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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23755495">The Cauldron of Ceridwen</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jenksel/pseuds/Jenksel'>Jenksel</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Red Sorceress and the White Knight [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Librarians (TV 2014)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abduction, Angst, Attempted Sexual Assault, Casskins, DOSA, Do not post to another site!, Explosions, F/M, Kidnapping, Magic, Magical Artifacts, Married Couple, Rescue Missions, Torture, Vampires, friendships, relationships</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:49:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>90,140</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23755495</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jenksel/pseuds/Jenksel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The time has come for Jenkins and Cassandra to deal with her special gift for magic.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cassandra Cillian/Jenkins | Galahad, Eve Baird/Flynn Carsen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Red Sorceress and the White Knight [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1571476</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. It Begins with a Bang</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eve Baird carried the heavy tray of assorted beverages and bowls of snack foods down the corridor from the kitchen to the Annex's main workroom. It had been a long day for the team so far, hours spent in catching up on the tedious, decidedly unexciting paperwork that the Library demanded in the normal course of its day to day business—and the paperwork had certainly piled up over the span of weeks that they were busy with the incident involving the Heart of Sorrow. On the heels of all that came the busy holiday season, and between the two, the stacks of paperwork had gotten so high that Flynn finally decided that enough was enough, and that today was the day to begin clearing away as much of the backlog as possible.</p>
<p>Unfortunately—or perhaps fortuitously, depending on one's point of view—last night Flynn was unexpectedly called away to the Iron Kingdom to mediate a rather nasty clan dispute. But, as he too cheerfully explained to the sullen team members he was leaving behind, as the new Tethered Librarian such things were simply part of his new job description. It would've helped the mood of everyone else if he hadn't announced his sudden departure in such a gleeful tone of voice...</p>
<p>And so, beginning at six o'clock this morning they went to work, with only a short break for lunch. They were almost half-way through the backlog now, and Eve decided they had all earned a one-hour midafternoon break before the final push. While she went to kitchen to get the drinks and snacks, Jake and Ezekiel pulled out their phones and started going through their texts and emails. Jenkins continued to work on the backlog, while Cassandra dashed off in the direction of the lab, muttering something about checking on an experiment she was running.</p>
<p>"Okay!" Baird announced loudly as she entered the room. "I have a soda for me!" She set the tray down on the closest, clear tabletop with a heavy <em>clunk</em>. She plucked her soda from the tray and popped the top on the can, took a quick swig and then set it aside.</p>
<p>"I have two India pale ales for Jake and Ezekiel." The two young men crowded around the tray, taking their eyes off of their phone screens just long enough to grab one of the long-necked green bottles and twist the caps off.</p>
<p>"Thanks, Baird!" said Stone. He took several loud gulps of the beer before finally lowering the bottle and smacking his lips appreciatively. "Aw, man! That sure hits the spot!" The Guardian grinned and gave him a fist bump before turning back to the tray.</p>
<p>"I have one bubble tea for Cassandra!" she announced, but no one claimed the drink. She looked around for the redheaded mathematician, but she was nowhere to be seen.</p>
<p>"Where's Cass?" she asked. Ezekiel shrugged his shoulders and grabbed a handful of miniature pretzels from the bowl on the tray.</p>
<p>"I dunno," he said, disinterested, popping a pretzel into his mouth. "I think she's still in the lab or something." Eve rolled her eyes; Cassandra was turning into quite the little workaholic since her encounter with the Heart of Sorrow. Eve noticed quickly that Cassandra was spending nearly every minute of free time she got in that lab, and the Guardian wasn't sure if she approved of that or not. She sighed and set the bubble tea back onto the tray.</p>
<p>"And last, but not least, I have one small pot of Darjeeling tea for Jenkins," she said, picking up the small pot and a teacup and carrying them over to the Caretaker's tall desk. She smiled to herself again at Jenkins's new look; his mane of long, silver-white hair was immaculately combed back and worked into a single thick braid that hung midway down his back, tied off with a silk ribbon that was color-coordinated every day to match his suit. It was the only physical reminder of his century-long nap in the Library's crypt, where he had lain undetected since 1912 until the team was able to find and revive him. Jenkins had planned to cut the hair off at the same time he removed the long snowy beard that had also grown in, but Cassandra begged him to keep the hair, at least for now; she thought it made him look especially sexy, much to his secret delight.</p>
<p>"There you go, Skip; I made it just the way you like it!" She set the tea things down as Jenkins stood up and stretched his long arms.</p>
<p>"Thank you, Eve, that's very kind of you." Baird leaned in a little as Jenkins began to pour tea into the cup.</p>
<p>"Hey, I also brought a little something for you-know-who, too, if that's okay with you?" She nodded at the green serpentine dragon that was draped over the old man's shoulders, his head resting on the Jenkins's chest as he dozed. Jenkins smiled and nodded.</p>
<p>"Hey! Franklin!" she called. "Look what I got for you!" Round black eyes instantly popped open and the little dragon's head shot up at the sound of his name. A low whine of expectation sounded in his throat and his long, thin tail began to move back and forth across Jenkins's torso. Eve reached into her shirt pocket and pulled out a matcha tea cookie.</p>
<p>"You want a cookie?" she asked the creature and held it up between them. Before she had even finished the sentence, Franklin squealed and scrambled over Jenkins's shoulders to get his hind legs underneath him. He leaped from Jenkins to Eve, landing squarely on her right shoulder. He then spun around and quickly wrapped his long tail around her neck as an anchorhold, at the same time crawling out onto her still outstretched arm as he tried to reach the tempting treat.</p>
<p>"Hey!" Baird squawked in surprise, her other hand automatically flying up to try and loosen the stranglehold around her throat. Franklin only tightened the powerful grip he had on her as he tried to reach the cookie while maintaining his balance. Jenkins quickly stepped out from behind his desk, forgetting his tea for the moment.</p>
<p>"Bring the cookie closer to his head, Colonel," he calmly instructed her. Eve obeyed, and as soon as he could reach the cookie, Franklin snatched it from her hand. The hold around her throat tightened even more for just a moment as he used his tail to help pull himself back up her arm and onto her shoulder. The moment he was stably perched, he loosened his tail completely and allowed it to fall limply down Eve's back.</p>
<p>"Wow!" Baird gasped, rubbing her throat. "That's some grip!" Jenkins chuckled as he went back to his desk and picked up his teacup. Franklin sat up and began happily munching on his prize, bright green crumbs falling to the floor as he ate.</p>
<p>"Indeed," the immortal agreed, taking a sip of tea. "In the wild, tea dragons use their tails not only to balance themselves while climbing. They're semi-prehensile, so they also use them to hold onto thick stems and branches as they forage amongst tea plants and trees. The tail is probably the strongest part of a tea dragon's body. Well, their tails <em>and</em> their jaws."</p>
<p>Within seconds the cookie was gone, and Franklin easily clambered down Eve's body, head-first, to the floor. There he snuffled around in search of the tasty crumbs, making tiny grunting sounds as he moved around at her feet.</p>
<p>"He's pretty agile, too," Eve said thoughtfully. "Seems like we should be able to train him. You know—teach him to fetch or to carry things from one location to another, obey commands, things like that. And that little trick of his where he squeezes himself underneath just about any door—that might come in handy on missions if we can control him." Jenkins dropped his cup onto its saucer with a sharp clatter.</p>
<p>"Franklin is a tea dragon, Colonel," he said, fixing her with a stern look from his sharp brown eyes. "He is not a circus animal trained to perform tricks for our amusement! He is a very intelligent creature, with a mind of his own. I daresay that he is even a sentient being, much like you and I. One cannot 'command' him, one can only <em>ask</em>." Taken aback by the Caretaker's vehemence, Eve held her hands up in a gesture of surrender.</p>
<p>"Okay, okay—sorry," she said defensively. "Didn't mean to overstep any boundaries or anything. It was just an idea." Franklin was whining for Jenkins to pick him up. He bent over and scooped the little reptile up from the floor and placed him back on his shoulders, then returned his attention to Eve, his eyes softer now.</p>
<p>"I apologize, Colonel," he said sincerely as he affectionately scratched Franklin's long neck. "I didn't mean to sound so harsh. It's just that... I'm very fond of Franklin. I understand your line of reasoning, but he's not just a pet or a mascot, at least not to me."</p>
<p>"I just thought that since you trained him to run those obstacle courses and take him to those competitions that, <em>maybe</em>, we could use those talents of his for our own benefit." She waved a hand, slightly frustrated by the old Caretaker's attitude. To her surprise, Jenkins chortled quietly.</p>
<p>"I taught him how to play a <em>game</em>, Colonel," he corrected her gently. "That's all those things are to him—just a game. He runs those courses because he enjoys it and chooses to do so. Any time he <em>doesn't</em> feel like running a course, he simply does not. And I do not force him to do it, nor anything else. I cannot." He then gave her a meaningful look.</p>
<p>"I <em>will</em> not." He waved a hand to take in the whole room.</p>
<p>"Like the rest of us, he's not just property or an asset to be utilized, Eve. He's...a companion, a friend. And, perhaps I'm being overly sentimental or protective, but I'm hesitant to put him into a situation where he could be injured. Or worse." Franklin nuzzled the old man's face before settling down for another nap, and Jenkins responded by smiling and giving the dragon a scratch behind one of his long ears. The bond between the two was almost palpable to Eve.</p>
<p>"Well, like I said, it was just an idea," she sighed, throwing in the towel. For now. Jenkins picked up his cup of tea and took a thoughtful sip.</p>
<p>"Perhaps...perhaps I can try and train him to respond to <em>some</em> commands," Jenkins offered. "Only <em>if</em> he's willing to learn them, of course, you understand." Baird smiled and accepted the olive branch the Caretaker was offering her.</p>
<p>"Sounds good, Skip," she said. "Let me know if..."</p>
<p>Eve's words were cut off by the sound of a deafeningly loud <em>boom</em> that sounded like a thunderclap. Franklin shrieked in fear and tried to hide his head beneath Jenkins's arm. The walls of the Annex and the floor beneath her feet vibrated sharply; books and artifacts fell off of the tables around the workroom, and the framed copy of the Gettysburg Address crashed to the floor, the glass shattering. High above them, the chandeliers rattled threateningly, but none fell. Years in NATO counterterrorism told Baird instantly what had happened.</p>
<p>An explosion!</p>
<p>The Guardian whirled around to face the others, their faces registering stunned confusion.</p>
<p>"Where did that come from?" she barked, moving towards the center of the room. "Was that inside of the Annex or outside?" Ezekiel ran over to the magic mirror and swiped it, activating it so that they could see outside the Annex via the security cameras. By then, everyone was clustered around and peering anxiously at the glass, but there was nothing for them to see outside. Everything seemed perfectly normal as a jogger slowly ran by, showing no sign of having witnessed or heard anything untoward.</p>
<p>"Okay, it's not outside, so it must've been inside!" Baird said shortly, spinning around to address the others. She suddenly realized that someone was still missing.</p>
<p>"Cassandra—where's Cassandra?"</p>
<p>The color drained from Jenkins's face as he, too, realized that his wife wasn't with them. Without saying a word, he turned toward one of the corridor entrances, and began running, at the same time removing Franklin from his shoulders and lightly dropping him onto a table as he passed by it.</p>
<p>"The lab!" Jake growled tightly, turning to follow the Caretaker. "She said she was gonna be in the lab!"</p>
<p>Eve and Ezekiel were right behind him.</p><hr/>
<p>Jenkins sprinted down the hallway to his lab, his heart pounding against his ribcage. As he turned the corner, he skidded to a stop several feet down the corridor, his chest suddenly filling with cold dread, his face going slack in shock. The heavy laboratory door had been blown completely off of its hinges and now lay in the hallway, a twisted piece of useless steel.</p>
<p>"<em>CASSANDRA</em>!" he bellowed, and ran into the lab itself.</p>
<p>The room was a complete shambles. Bottles, jars, test tubes, specimens, mangled pieces of equipment lay scattered and broken everywhere. Doors had been ripped off of cabinets, the cabinets themselves fallen onto their sides with their contents spilling out onto the floor. Scorched books, papers, files and artifacts littered the cracked cement floor. Workbenches, shelving and chairs were hurled across the room and smashed by the force of the blast. The acrid smells of smoke, herbs and chemicals hung in the air, and he realized that a few combustible items were still burning. The direction in which the items that made up the debris field were laying showed Jenkins that the explosion originated from the back section of the lab, where Cassandra had her desk and equipment.</p>
<p>"<em>Cassandra</em>!" he shouted again, looking around wildly for the Librarian. By this time the others had caught up to him and were standing just outside the doorway, mouths hanging open in disbelief at the level of destruction. Jenkins didn't receive an answer to his call, so he waded further into the lab in a frantic search for his wife.</p>
<p>"CASSANDRA!" he yelled a third time, his voice betraying his fear. "Answer me! Can you hear me?!" Knowing that she would never be able to stop Jenkins, Baird turned to the others.</p>
<p>"Stay here until I make sure it's safe in there!" she ordered.</p>
<p>"Like hell!" Stone shot back; he started through the door, but Eve grabbed his arm and hauled him back. She turned him around and stared him in the eye.</p>
<p>"<em>Not</em> until I make sure it's safe!" she repeated slowly. "We don't know what caused this, and until we do, I don't want <em>anyone</em> else going in there! Now <em>stay put</em>!" Jacob glared back angrily, frustrated at not being able to help, but he obeyed the Guardian.</p>
<p>Eve turned and started into the lab after Jenkins. By now he was in the back portion of the room, throwing things out of his way and calling out frantically for Cassandra. Judging by the panicked sound of his voice, he wasn't finding her, and he was growing more desperate by the second.</p>
<p>"Jenkins!" Eve called out as she plowed her way through the mess. "Jenkins, come back! It's not safe in here! <em>I'll</em> look for Cassandra!"</p>
<p>As she expected, though, he totally ignored her. Finally, Baird caught up with him. The fact that they hadn't heard Cassandra or found any sign of her yet meant one of three things to the Guardian: She was unconscious and couldn't answer; she hadn't been in the lab at all when it exploded; or she was... Baird gritted her teeth and refused to consider <em>that</em> possibility.</p>
<p>"Colonel! Please! Help me find Cassandra!" Jenkins pleaded, his voice cracking under the strain of his desperation to find his wife. She could see by the look in his eyes that he was also fighting hard not to consider the possibility that beloved Cassandra had been killed.</p>
<p>"She <em>must</em> be here somewhere!" he went on, his wild, worried eyes sweeping the area. "I <em>have</em> to find her! She could be seriously injured, she could be..." He fell silent and froze suddenly, cocked his head. Eve stopped where she was and held her breath as she, too, listened. Then, barely audible, she heard it: A faint groaning coming from beneath an overturned steel cabinet.</p>
<p>"<em>Here</em>!" Jenkins shouted and moved toward the sound, his long legs easily picking their way through the destruction. Eve followed right behind him.</p>
<p>Jenkins reached the cabinet and then waved sharply for Eve to be quiet again. He lowered his head over the twisted cabinet in order to hear better.</p>
<p>"Cassandra?" he called out loudly. He was rewarded with another soft moan.</p>
<p>"Jenkins?" Cassandra called out weakly from beneath the cabinet. "Help..."</p>
<p>Jenkins cried out with relief and seized the large cabinet. Eve guessed that it must have weighed at least a hundred pounds, but with a strength that took her by surprise, he lifted it up and shoved it aside as though it was made of cardboard.</p>
<p>There was Cassandra, lying on the floor, disheveled, dirty and disoriented, but alive. She made a move as if to try and sit up, but she cried out and fell back to the floor, clutched her left side and wincing in pain. Jenkins was on her in an instant.</p>
<p>"No! Don't move, Cassandra! Stay still!" he ordered her in a shaking voice. Eve turned to where the others were waiting anxiously.</p>
<p>"Guys! We need a stretcher here!" she shouted. "And a gurney! <em>Now</em>!"</p>
<p>"Is she...?" the Jake called back, half-dreading the answer. Baird realized that the boys probably couldn't hear Cassandra's soft groans from the doorway; they didn't know if this was a rescue or a recovery.</p>
<p>"She's okay!" Baird shouted. "But she's hurt; we need to get her to the infirmary as fast as possible!"</p>
<p>"We got it!" Stone yelled. He turned and grabbed Jones by the arm and the two of them raced to the Library Infirmary.</p>
<p>With the men dispatched to fetch a gurney, Eve turned back to Cassandra. Jenkins was kneeling on the floor next to his wife. He held her small hand in one of his, while his other hand gently combed his long fingers through Cassandra's tangled, glass-strewn hair.</p>
<p>"It's all right, Cassandra, we're here!" he murmured to her softly. "Where are you feeling pain?"</p>
<p>"My left side. My left arm. My head." She looked up at him, tears welling in her dazed eyes. "I think I had an accident; I think I blew up the lab…" Her face crumpled. "I'm sorry!"</p>
<p>"Hush, Cassandra, it's all right!" he said. "Just lie still now!" Baird saw Jenkins press his lips tightly together as he struggled to keep his emotions in check. He tenderly stroked Cassandra's temple, then lowered his head and lovingly kissed his wife's forehead.</p>
<p>"You'll be fine, now, my love, I promise! You're going to be just fine...!"</p>
<p>Eve swallowed against a hard lump forming in her throat as she watched him, and wondered who, exactly, Jenkins was trying so hard to reassure more—Cassandra or himself?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Librarian’s Secret</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Once the men returned with a stretcher and a gurney, the team was able to quickly extricate the semi-conscious Cassandra from the wreckage of the laboratory and rush her to the Library's small infirmary. Jenkins retrieved the Asclepius Glass from its new storage place in the infirmary and carefully examined the injured Librarian through its penetrating lens. Only then did his heart begin to beat normally again, and he was greatly relieved to report to the others hovering anxiously around the examination table that the injured Librarian had no serious internal injuries; she had only three bruised ribs on her left side, a badly bruised left shoulder and upper arm, and a slight concussion. He surmised that Cassandra had been thrown into the cabinet by the blast percussion, and the steel cabinet had then providentially fallen on top of her in such a way as to actually protect her from the heat and falling debris resulting from the blast.</p>
<p>After dosing her with a mild healing potion, Jenkins firmly ordered her to stay in the infirmary for a couple of days of bedrest. Eve went one step further and took Cassandra off of active duty for the next couple of weeks just to be on the safe side, much to the young woman's dismay.</p>
<p>"Two weeks!" she moaned plaintively as she struggled weakly to sit up. Jenkins instantly placed his hand on her good shoulder and gently pushed her back onto the table.</p>
<p>"Colonel Baird is right, Cassandra," he said firmly. "You need to rest! One can never be too careful where a concussion is concerned." She yawned as she looked up into his worried brown eyes, the healing potion beginning to take effect.</p>
<p>"Do I have to stay <em>here</em>?" she grumbled drowsily. "I want to sleep in our room, with you." Jenkins glanced up at Baird, and the Guardian nodded her head.</p>
<p>"Of course you can, my love," Jenkins said, holding her hand and squeezing it. He bent a little lower to kiss her forehead, then gave her a look of mock sternness.</p>
<p>"But sleep only—nothing else!" Cassandra snorted softly at the joke before she closed her eyes and slipped off into a dreamless sleep.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Jenkins hovered over his wife during the next seventy-two hours, waiting on her hand and foot as though she was a pampered princess. By the fourth day, however, Cassandra had had enough pampering.</p>
<p>"I really do wish you would reconsider, my dear," Jenkins implored. "Just one more day in bed, just to be safe?" Cassandra stopped brushing her hair and turned around to face her overprotective husband.</p>
<p>"Sweetheart, I'm <em>okay</em>!" she answered calmly, looking him steadily in the eyes. "I feel just fine—my shoulder is just a little stiff, still, but that's all. If I have to spend one more day in bed doing nothing, I will go absolutely crazy!" She turned back to the bathroom mirror and resumed doing her hair. Jenkins, standing behind her, gave her a disapproving glower.</p>
<p>"I <em>saw</em> that!" she said, giving him a disapproving frown of her own. Jenkins raised his head haughtily.</p>
<p>"Very well, then. You know your own mind, I suppose," he said with exaggerated carelessness. "But don't come running to <em>me</em> when you succumb to some unforeseen medical complication that could've been avoided by simply listening to the good sense of your husband for a change!" He turned and stalked from the bathroom as Cassandra's shoulders dropped in frustration, her head falling back.</p>
<p>"Jenkins, I'm <em>fine</em>!" she repeated loudly, but only received a churlish grunt in reply. Rolling her eyes, she quickly finished her hair and brushed her teeth, then snapped off the bathroom lights as she headed into the bedroom. Jenkins was standing in front of the floor-length mirror, fussing with his bow tie and pocket square, trying to arrange them just so. The long, neat braid of silver-white hair hung down his back, tied off with a dark blue grosgrain ribbon. Cassandra went up behind him and slipped her arms around his waist to give him a tight hug.</p>
<p>"So, what's on the docket for today?" she asked briskly. "Anything exciting?" Jenkins merely grunted again and shrugged his shoulders as he continued to fiddle with his tie. With a loud huff, Cassandra grabbed his arms and forced him to turn away from the mirror to face her.</p>
<p>"Jenkins, stop it!" she snapped. "You're being a big baby about this!" He dropped his arms and stared down at her for a moment, then sighed softly. He brought his hands up to rest them on her upper arms as his expression softened.</p>
<p>"I'm just worried about you, my dear, that's all," he said, no rancor in his voice. "I just want to make sure that you're not doing too much too soon." He paused for a moment, bringing his hand up to brush her cheek with backs of his fingers.</p>
<p>"You have no idea how afraid I was for you! When I saw the lab that day, I thought…" he started, but couldn't finish the sentence. He dropped his gaze for a second and swallowed hard, then looked up again, took a deep breath and smiled.</p>
<p>"But you're fine, now, as you say," he said. "And I'm sorry for being so childish and overbearing. Forgive me?" Cassandra smiled up at him.</p>
<p>"Of course!" she said, and gave him another hug. This time he returned it.</p>
<p>Now that fences had been mended, Jenkins's mood changed dramatically from sulking to affable. He turned again to the mirror to make a couple more minute adjustments to his suit.</p>
<p>"If you don't think it would be too much for you, I could certainly use your help in putting the lab to rights again," he said. Finally satisfied with his tie, he turned to face her, a frown once more on his face.</p>
<p>"And I've been anxious to ask you about the explosion itself, actually. I still can't figure out what caused it," he continued. Jenkins suspected that Cassandra knew the answers to the questions that had plagued him since the explosion. His gut warned him that he would not like those answers, either, because he also suspected that the answers were related to magic—Old Magic.</p>
<p>He hadn't to Cassandra yet in any depth about what Charlene had told him about his wife, about the magic she carried inside. He hated the Old Magic with a passion and was loathe to discuss the topic. How could he accept that part of Cassandra if it was true? How could he live with someone who possessed the very thing that had destroyed his friends, his home, the only life that he knew? After all these centuries, he was still wounded to the very core of his being by what that magic had done to Camelot, how it had taken everything away from him with chilling speed.</p>
<p>Yet, as much as he hated the Old Magic, he loved Cassandra with an equal passion. The questions consumed him, the tension was tearing him in two; all he wanted now was to go back the way it used to be, before that damned Heart of Sorrow had turned their lives upside-down. But at the same time Jenkins was doggedly realistic, and he knew very well that it was something that he simply could not dodge any longer.</p>
<p>"Mr. Stone assures me that it wasn't a gas leak, nor can I find any sign of it having been the result of a chemical mishap." He paused for a moment, looking as if he wanted to say something more, but was unsure. Instead, he gave a tiny shrug of his wide shoulders, but the Librarian saw a shadow of concern flash in his dark eyes before he lowered them.</p>
<p>"What?" asked Cassandra as she put a hand on his forearm. "What is it?" She felt the muscles under her hand stiffen slightly.</p>
<p>"I scanned the lab with the magic detector," he replied reluctantly, carefully keeping his voice neutral. "It indicates that a large amount of magic was present at the time of the explosion, but at such high levels…" His eyes flicked up to take in her expression, then dropped them again.</p>
<p>"Well, the detector <em>must</em> be malfunctioning; it indicates that the levels of supernatural residue present in the lab now show the use of magic on a scale that I've never seen before." He glanced up again at his wife, but her expression gave nothing away.</p>
<p>"Well, we'll soon get to the bottom of it now that you're feeling better," he said genially as he headed for the bedroom door to hold it open for her. "Do you…by any chance remember…what you were doing just before the explosion?"</p>
<p>He caught a flicker of something pass through her eyes at that moment as she stared up at him. Cassandra dropped her gaze and clasped her hands nervously in front of her, her blue eyes darting all over the floor at his feet. Jenkins realized that the look he had seen was that of guilt. He slowly closed the door and turned to face her.</p>
<p>"Cassandra?" he prompted, apprehension filling him as a suspicion he didn't want to acknowledge began to harden into certainty. "What do you know? What happened in the lab?"</p>
<p>Cassandra's eyes came up for a moment, then fell again, her heart thudding hard in her chest. Jenkins was going to be furious when he learned what she had done, that she had kept her secret from him for so long, but she had known from the beginning that she couldn't keep it from him forever. She might have said something by now if it hadn't been for her mishap with the Heart of Sorrow. And now there was everything that Charlene had told her about Old Magic, and why Jenkins hated it so much—if only she could have a little more time to prepare, instead of having to just spring it on him now like this! But she realized that she couldn't remain silent about it any longer; he needed to know the truth. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and then squared her shoulders as she pulled her head up to meet his gaze. He already knew something big was coming; she could see the dread in his soft brown eyes.</p>
<p>"I've…been keeping a secret from you," she said, her voice steady. "I was going to tell you about it eventually, but I wanted to work with it a little bit first. Get familiar with it and comfortable using it, see what I could do with it. You know—explore, experiment? I was <em>always</em> really careful, but…something went wrong with it the other day in the lab." Jenkins stared down at her, his face like stone and unreadable, his eyes unwavering as she spoke.</p>
<p>"What secret?" he asked, his voice low and wary as he barely cocked his head. "Cassandra, what have you done? What have you been hiding from me?" Cassandra blinked and took a quick breath.</p>
<p>"Do you remember when we were looking for the 'Liber Fabulus'?" she began, her eyes locked onto her husband's. "When the little girl who was sick rewrote the story the town librarian had been telling her and she turned us all into different storybook characters?" Jenkins nodded his head slowly, remaining silent.</p>
<p>"Well, you remember how she sort of turned <em>me</em> into Merlin, and I was able to summon some of Merlin's magic to help defeat the wolves?" Cassandra saw Jenkins's eyes widen almost imperceptibly, and his entire body stiffened as he began to put two and two together and realized that Cassandra's contact with the Old Magic had begun long before the discovery of that accursed Heart of Sorrow.</p>
<p>"I don't know <em>how</em> it happened, but even after her story ended I was still able to retain a small piece of that magic!" she rushed on fretfully before he could speak or react. "I've been studying it and working with it ever since, trying to understand it and control it, trying to teach myself how to use it…"</p>
<p>Jenkins stood straight and turned his back to her for a moment as he ran his hands over his hair in agitation, his mind reeling.</p>
<p><em>Cassandra has the Old Magic, Galahad!</em> he heard Charlene's voice echoing in his head. While he hadn't had the courage to speak with Cassandra about it yet, ever since their return from 1912 Jenkins had given a great deal of thought to the idea that his wife possessed powerful ancient magic. He knew that she had a facility with magic in general that he had never seen in a Librarian before, but he had also never seen anything from Cassandra to indicate the presence of Old Magic until their encounter with the Heart Stone. He didn't think she even knew how to access that kind of magic within herself, let alone actually use it.</p>
<p>Now, too late, he understood everything: She had gained access to the Old Magic through that cursed 'Liber Fabulus', not the Heart of Sorrow. When the sheriff's daughter spun her own tale and turned the Librarians into fairy tale archetypes, she assigned Cassandra to the role of Merlin, and for a brief time, Cassandra <em>was</em> Merlin. That short period of transformation must have created just enough of a crack in the door to Cassandra's deep subconsciousness to allow the Old Magic unrestricted entry. The Heart of Sorrow had only reacted to the Old Magic that the 'Liber Fabulus' had stirred to life. It explained how she was powerful enough to create out of thin air and explosion that nearly destroyed the lab. She had been aware of the dangerous magic's presence within her much earlier—several <em>years</em> earlier. And she had not said a single word to him about it.</p>
<p>Jenkins whirled around to face the Librarian again. The expression on his face was a mix of anger, disbelief and pain. When he spoke, his voice quaked ever so slightly.</p>
<p>"What happened in the lab?" he demanded. Cassandra gulped.</p>
<p>"Well, I was experimenting with the magic—Merlin's magic. It's hard to explain, but, in the simplest terms, I've discovered that it has the ability to transform mathematical equations and theorems into reality!" Her blue eyes widened and she began to wave her hands expressively, caught up in her own mounting excitement at her discovery.</p>
<p>"If you can just…in your mind...construct a plausible equation—for anything!—the magic…it acts like a focus, or a lens, and it <em>amplifies</em> that equation, <em>magnifies</em> it and sharpens it and…and <em>refines</em> it until…POOF!" She clapped her hands together and then spread them out over her head to mimic an explosion. "The insubstantial, formless equations suddenly cross the line from theoretical into reality! I don't know <em>how</em> that works, exactly—not yet, anyway—or what actually <em>pushes</em> the equation over that line or even <em>where</em> that line is, but…"</p>
<p>"<em>Enough</em>!" thundered Jenkins suddenly. Cassandra's mouth snapped shut and she stared up at her husband, eyes wide and frightened. His face was now dark with barely-controlled fury. He glared back at her for a moment, then turned away from her a second time as he tried to calm himself down. The moment he heard the words "Merlin's magic", he'd stopped listening to her. All he could hear reverberating through his brain now were the four words that he hated the most: <em>Merlin's magic. Old Magic</em>. He whirled around to face her again.</p>
<p>"Show it to me!" he barked harshly. Cassandra flinched at the vitriol in his tone.</p>
<p>"Wh-what?" she stuttered. He took a step towards her, his eyes blazing, and she quailed as she involuntarily stepped back from him.</p>
<p>"<em>Show me the magic</em>!" he commanded again. "Show me the magic you've been toying with all these years! Show it to me, right now!"</p>
<p>The Librarian recovered her composure quickly. Her own temper was beginning to smolder at her husband's reaction to her revelation. Her fearful expression hardened as she looked him boldly in the eye for a few seconds. She then closed her eyes, slowly and deliberately, as she gracefully lifted her right hand to hold it out in front of her body, the fingers folded over to cover her palm. She focused her mind on summoning the spark of magic from deep within herself, where she instinctually knew it naturally resided, unseen by any eye.</p>
<p>Mathematical equations flashed across her eyelids at blinding speed as she sought to gather and focus the magical energy that she now understood permeated not only herself, but which surrounded and saturated everyone and everything in the cosmos. It was harder to do this time because of the distress she was currently feeling in the face of Jenkins's displeasure, but she was eventually able to clear her mind enough to focus her energy on the equations—the beautiful, calming equations that were the color of spring, of new growth and new beginnings and endless possibilites, that smelled of freshly turned earth, of the first warm breath of the south wind in springtime.</p>
<p>Jenkins watched in icy silence as a beatific smile played on his wife's lips, her face relaxing and smoothing away the brow furrowed by concentration. From beneath her fingers he could see a dim blue-white light begin to shine, growing in brilliance with each second until the light almost swallowed her hand. Cassandra opened her eyes and her fingers at the same time. Hovering just above her palm was a shining ball of light, like a miniature sun—a sight that he recognized all too well from his youth and had hoped never to see again in his endless lifetime. He raised his eyes to see Cassandra gazing back at him with a dreamy, triumphant pride.</p>
<p>"See?" she said softly, detachedly, as if in a trance. "It really <em>is</em> Merlin's magic! Just think of what we can do with…"</p>
<p>"Get rid of it!" Jenkins snapped tersely, biting off each word. Cassandra blinked dumbly, still caught up in the intricate patterns of letters, numbers and mathematical symbols dancing before her semi-glazed eyes. From far away she thought she heard a familiar voice—was that Jenkins? She started to bring her attention back to the present moment, but was drawn back into the colors, the smells, the sounds, the dancing equations. Jenkins watched it all, his jaw clenching so tightly with fear and anger that it hurt.</p>
<p>"<em>Get rid of it</em>!" he shouted and lashed out at her hand, swatting it hard with his. Cassandra gasped loudly and staggered backward several steps as she was harshly pulled further back into her present surroundings, the whirling equations spinning off into all directions and disappearing as the ball of light guttered out. The room came back into focus as she recovered her senses. She saw Jenkins glaring at her, his eyes cold and furious—and full of naked fear. Her blue ones flashed with mounting anger.</p>
<p>"What are you doing?!" she demanded, her hands balling into fists at her sides. "What's wrong with you?" The immortal stepped forward, grabbed her by her thin shoulders and shook her slightly. She cried out in pain as he gripped her injured shoulder too tightly, but he didn't seem to hear her.</p>
<p>"<em>Never</em> summon that magic again!" he yelled, practically in her face. "Do you understand me, Cassandra? You must <em>never</em> summon it again!" Stunned, she gaped at him for a moment before her temper flared into full blaze.</p>
<p>"Take your hands off me!" she spat, roughly pushing his arms away from her and then stepping back out of his reach, rubbing her aching shoulder. "What is your problem?!" He looked at her as if she had just asked him what color the sky was.</p>
<p>"My 'problem' is that you have been playing with something which you have <em>no idea</em> of the danger involved!" he snapped back. "You might as well have been processing your own yellow cake uranium this whole time! In fact, <em>that</em> would've actually been a million times <em>safer</em> than what you've been playing with!"</p>
<p>"Stop saying that!" Cassandra shot back at him. "I'm <em>not</em> 'playing' with anything—I'm <em>researching</em>! I'm <em>learning</em>! I'm doing what a Librarian is <em>supposed</em> to do!" She threw her arms out in her anger and frustration. "Do you have <em>any</em> idea, <em>any idea at all</em>, how important this is?! Do you have any idea how incredibly helpful this can be in our work?!"</p>
<p>"I know how incredibly <em>dangerous</em> this can be!" Jenkins bellowed. "I cannot <em>believe</em> that you would be so careless, Cassandra! Do <em>you</em> have any idea how much danger you've put everyone in with your 'research'? How could you be so <em>stupid</em>!" Stunned, Cassandra's jaw dropped.</p>
<p>"What did you just say to me?" she gasped. "Did you just call me '<em>stupid'</em>?" Startled by his own thoughtlessness, Jenkins hesitated as he tried to formulate an ameliorating response. Cassandra didn't wait for him.</p>
<p>"How dare you!" she hissed, enraged now. "<em>How dare you</em>!" She shoved him out of her way as she headed for the door, desperate now to get out of the room and away from this idiotic, pig-headed man. As she touched the heavy brass knob she spun around.</p>
<p>"You <em>still</em> just want to hide your head in the sand!" she snarled at him with contempt. "You spent centuries criticizing Mr. Judson for wanting to hide magic away forever, but you're just as bad! When we first came here, you bragged about how much more 'progressive' you were in your thinking compared to Judson, bragged about how <em>you</em> wanted to research and study and learn about artifacts rather than just lock them away—but you're a <em>hypocrite</em>!" She let go of the doorknob and rushed to jab her finger into Jenkins's chest.</p>
<p>"<em>You</em> want to find and lock magic up, hide it from the world instead of trying to understand it or tame it and make it work <em>for</em> us instead of against us, Just like you accused Mr. Judson of doing! You still can't get it through your head that magic is out there <em>now</em>, it <em>can't</em> be hidden away anymore!" She took a few steps back from the immortal, her voice pleading.</p>
<p>"We <em>have</em> to understand it, Jenkins! We <em>have</em> to learn how it works and how to use it, safely, for the betterment of everyone, so we can help others do the same! Why can't you see that? Why can't you understand that? Why can't you loosen up just <em>little</em> bit and consider the <em>possibility</em> that I might be right about this?" She looked plaintively at the fuming man, waiting for a response.</p>
<p>"No," he said flatly. "You know nothing about magic and its nature, Cassandra! You've already proven—more than once, I might add—that you cannot restrain yourself when it comes to using magic! You're far too impetuous; you make decisions based on emotion rather than logic, and where magic is concerned there is <em>no</em> room for emotion!"</p>
<p>Cassandra stared daggers at him, her patience gone in the face of his cold inflexibility. Frustrated and hurt by her husband's infuriating lack of vision and condescension, she suddenly felt the childish need to hurt him, to make sure that he felt just as attacked and wounded as she was feeling right now</p>
<p>"And you call <em>me</em> stupid? <em>You're</em> the stupid one, Jenkins!" she shouted at him. "And you're a hypocrite! You're a…a… stupid…hypocritical...cowardly…<em>bastard</em>!" she spat. Knowing how sensitive he was about the circumstances surrounding his conception and birth as the illegitimate son of Lancelot du Luc, she knew that it was the one insult she could use that would cut him the most deeply. She felt a momentary rush of satisfaction as he blinked and almost physically flinched at her angrily hurled barb. She saw the anger drain from his face, to be quickly replaced by a blank mask of stoicism as he quickly fought to hide the pain she succeeded in causing him. But even then he couldn't completely hide the hurt that filled his eyes in place of his anger.</p>
<p>"If you'll excuse me, please," he said as he turned away from Cassandra, his voice emotionless. Jenkins's face was like stone, and his eyes were focused now on the bedroom floor as he quickly crossed it to take refuge in his study. He shut the door quietly behind him; Cassandra heard a key rattle softly in its keyhole as he locked her out. Too late, remorse filled her heart.</p>
<p>"Jenkins!" she called out and ran over to the door. She grabbed the knob and tried it anyway, found it unyielding. She began to pound on the thick oak. "Jenkins! Jenkins, please! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! Please, open the door! <em>Jenkins</em>!"</p>
<p>The door remained closed, and there was no response from within. After several minutes of knocking and pleading, Cassandra gave up and stepped away from the door. Self-righteous anger once again flared up inside of the Librarian's chest, fueled now by her sense of guilt and shame for her behavior and the desire to justify it.</p>
<p>"Fine!" she yelled, turning to leave the bedroom. "Have it your own way!" She stalked to the bedroom door and threw it open. "But you <em>know</em> I'm right!"</p>
<p>Without waiting for any reply, she strode into the hallway, pausing only to slam the door behind her as hard as she could.</p>
<p>"Big crybaby!" she muttered to herself as she clomped petulantly away.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Caretaker’s Secret</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eve Baird massaged the rock-hard muscles at the back of her neck and in her shoulders, hoping to relieve the king-sized headache that was throbbing against the back of her skull at the moment. She was in the kitchen drinking a much-needed cup of strong black coffee before beginning the day's work when Cassandra suddenly stormed through the door. Eve made the mistake of asking what was wrong, and the Librarian unloaded on the hapless Guardian with both barrels—hence the headache and tense muscles.</p>
<p>Once she had gotten everything out of her system, Cassandra was much calmer. She even appeared to be more than a little remorseful for the fight that she'd just had with her husband and for the things she'd said to him. The young woman now stood at the counter with Eve, idly stirring her cup of cooling coffee while she talked to the Guardian. On the other side of the kitchen, Franklin was curled protectively around his empty food bowl, his large black eyes watching the two women as he waited patiently for Jenkins to come in and feed him.</p>
<p>"Then I called him a stupid bastard, and he shut himself up in his study and wouldn't talk to me anymore," she reported glumly, blinking back tears. She pushed the coffee cup away and slumped against the countertop, burying head in her hands as she squeezed her eyes shut.</p>
<p>"I can't believe I called him that!" she groaned piteously in a muffled voice. Eve smiled sadly and reached out to rub Cassandra's arm reassuringly.</p>
<p>"That's not so bad, really," she said. "I was called <em>a lot</em> worse when I was in the army, let me tell you!" Cassandra dropped her arms, raised her head again and shook it.</p>
<p>"No, you don't understand, Eve," she sighed heavily. "That was the <em>worst</em> thing I could've called him! During the whole time he was growing up and while he was a knight at Camelot, people kept throwing it in his face that he was illegitimate, and it really <em>hurt</em> him. If you could've seen the look on his face whenever he told me stories about it; it was awful! I finally got <em>him</em> to stop using that word to describe himself, I told him it was an ugly word that it didn't come anywhere near to describing what he truly was—and then here <em>I am</em> calling him a bastard! Ugh!" Cassandra pushed herself away from the counter and paced across the kitchen, angry and disgusted with herself. "How could I have done that to him!?"</p>
<p><em>Ouch,</em> thought Baird. Jenkins and Cassandra rarely had big blowups like this. They were pretty good at communicating openly with each other, settling differences of opinion like rational adults, but on those occasions where each one thought that <em>they</em> were in the right and refused to budge, <em>that's</em>when the fireworks were sure to start. She knew what kind of a temper Cassandra had, and she could easily picture the redhead angrily lashing out at Jenkins in the most hurtful way she could find. But Jenkins could give as good as he got, though he was usually much more subtle. Cassandra must've really hit a nerve for the old Caretaker to actually use the word 'stupid' with her.</p>
<p>"You were angry, that's how," Eve said simply, but not unsympathetically. "I don't know why, but for some dumb reason when people argue they feel the need to hurt those that they feel have hurt them in some way. Yeah, it's childish, but it happens." The Guardian sighed and took a sip of her coffee.</p>
<p>"Question now is: What are you gonna do about it? How are you gonna fix this?" Cassandra heaved a deep sigh.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I know," she said unhappily. "I have to apologize. And I <em>want</em> to, really, but…" She looked up at Eve and waved her hands frantically in front of herself, a look of irritation on her face.</p>
<p>"Jenkins is <em>wrong</em>!" she declared loudly. "He's just…so…totally…<em>wrong</em>!"</p>
<p>"Is he?" asked Baird quietly, peering at the miffed Librarian over the top of her mug as she sipped more coffee. Cassandra stopped pacing and glared at her friend in disbelief.</p>
<p>"You're taking <em>his</em> side?" she yelped, her voice going up an octave. Eve shook her head.</p>
<p>"Not completely, no; calm down!" she said. "All I'm saying is that maybe he's <em>partially</em> right. Just like <em>you're</em> partially right." The young woman gave Baird a sour look.</p>
<p>"How?" she demanded. Eve took another placid sip of coffee to buy a few seconds as she quickly pieced her argument together.</p>
<p>"Well, he's right in that this 'research' of yours is dangerous," she began. Cassandra opened her mouth to dispute Baird, but the Guardian raised her hand and gave her a stern look.</p>
<p>"Cass, <em>you blew up the lab</em>!" she said slowly. "You could've just as easily blown yourself through a wall and been killed, or burnt yourself to a crisp! Which leads me to my <em>second</em> point." She fixed the Librarian with a hard stare.</p>
<p>"You should've seen the look on Jenkins's face when he realized that you were in that lab when it blew," she said more gently. "You scared the living hell of out him, Cass! You scared the hell out of <em>all</em> of us, but Jenkins…I thought he was gonna drop dead right there in the workroom when he realized you weren't in there with us!" Eve set her cup down and went over to take both of Cassandra's hands in hers.</p>
<p>"<em>Think</em> about that for a second, Cassandra! He's seen a lot of stuff in his life, most of it bad; you remember what he was like when we all first came here?" Cassandra smirked and nodded her head at the memory of the crotchety recluse, always carping at them for one thing or another. She smiled softly at the memory of the large wall calendar Jenkins set up in the workroom a couple of days after the Library had chosen them. Every day, he would heave a loud sigh and make a grand show of drawing a big red X through each day with a fat marker pen, pointedly counting off the days until they would all hopefully, <em>finally</em> go away and leave him alone again. He still carped at them, but now they all knew that it was just an act. Most of the time, anyway.</p>
<p>"He loves you so much, but it must be hell for him to see you putting yourself in harm's way day in and day out. It must be hell for him to see you going through those doors every day knowing that something might happen to you while you're on a mission, that you might not come back again," Eve continued.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I know," Cassandra said. "He told me that himself one time."</p>
<p>"Right? And now you throw this little lagniappe into his lap as well! With no warning or time to get used to the idea?" Baird put her hands on Cassandra's shoulders. "That wasn't really very fair of you. I'm not excusing what he did or said this morning, Cass, but it <em>is</em> understandable, don't you think?"</p>
<p>Cassandra breathed a quiet sigh and dropped her gaze for a moment as Baird's argument took all the energy out of the Librarian's remaining ire. She lifted her face to look into Eve's concerned blue eyes.</p>
<p>"I don't want him to worry about me, Eve, but…I just can't live my life like he thinks I should!" she said. "If Jenkins had his way, he'd never let me outside of the Library ever again! He would never let me study or practice magic ever again, and I just can't spend my life in a bubble like that, not after I'm <em>finally</em> starting to learn <em>who</em> I really am and <em>what</em> I can really do! I don't want to hurt him or anything, but I can't just ignore what I know about myself now. I can't ignore what Charlene and Judson told me. I finally have the chance to actually live my life, my <em>true</em> life—a full, regular, normal life!" She paused a moment, then a wry, lopsided smile lifted one corner of her mouth.</p>
<p>"Well, as normal and regular a life as possible for a Librarian that possesses some kind of weird ancient magic, I guess," she amended, shrugging one shoulder. She looked up at her friend. "So what do I do?"</p>
<p>"You know what you have to do," said Baird without hesitation. "You have to go and talk to each other. Tell Jenkins what you just told me. Work this out. I know you can do that, Cass, because I know that you and Jenkins can talk to each other about <em>anything</em>. You guys have such a special relationship, even without the Sealing. Just go and talk to him, make him understand, find the middle ground."</p>
<p>The Librarian was quiet for a few moments, pondering Eve's words. She knew Baird was right, had known it all along, but sometimes one just needed to hear it from someone else. Cassandra stepped forward and threw her arms around Eve and gave her a tight hug, which the tall woman warmly returned.</p>
<p>"Thanks, Eve," Cassandra said. "You're the best!" Eve snorted as she let go of the petite woman.</p>
<p>"Any time, Red," she said affectionately. "So, what's the plan now? You gonna go talk to Jenkins?" She was surprised when Cassandra shook her head.</p>
<p>"No, I think I'm gonna give us some space for a little bit," she said. "I need some time to work out a way to apologize to him while at the same time convincing him that I'm right and he's wrong!" She started laughing at the look on Baird's face, and she held up her hands to ward off the scolding that she could see building in the Guardian's eyes. "Kidding! Just kidding! Middle ground! I know! I know!"</p>
<p>"Just for that, you little smart-ass," said Eve briskly, rolling her eyes as she grabbed Cassandra's arm and began to drag the snickering woman from the kitchen. "You can come help the rest of us finish cleaning up <em>your</em> mess in the lab!"</p>
<hr/>
<p>Eve and the Librarians worked the rest of the day cleaning out the lab, making repairs and putting the space back into some kind of order. Jenkins made a brief appearance, but as soon as he saw his wife he beat a hasty retreat, giving a vague excuse about how the Archives had been neglected lately. Cassandra, hurt, frowned and sighed quietly as she watched her husband disappear through the door. It seemed like Jenkins had been spending a lot of time in the Archives lately, but she said nothing and went back to work as though nothing had happened. It was probably just as well, she decided; she still wasn't sure how to say what she wanted to tell him anyway.</p>
<p>Jenkins stayed away all day, not even showing up meals. That evening, after a dinner of Mexican take out with the others, Cassandra decided that enough was enough. She was dirty after the day's work in the lab and bone-tired, but she knew she had to talk to Jenkins, tonight. She decided to go shower first, freshen up a little bit, then go to the Archives and look for him. She bid the others goodnight and headed for her suite. Eve gave her a quick, conspiratorial wink as the Librarian passed her, and Cassandra smiled weakly back. Throwing her shoulders back, she steeled herself for what was to come as she hurried along the corridor.</p>
<hr/>
<p>When she reached the bedroom door she turned the knob and shoved the heavy door open, turning on the lights as she entered. She gasped and uttered a small squawk of surprise at finding Jenkins in the room, sitting stiffly on the edge of the bed, his hands loosely folded in his lap. He appeared to have been sitting in the dark for some time, waiting for her.</p>
<p>"H-hi," she greeted him reticently. He silently nodded his head, his eyes giving away nothing. "How…how are things in the Archives?" Still standing just inside the doorway, she gazed nervously at him as she waited for him to answer. Without warning the tall immortal stood and, crossing the space between them in a few long strides, he wound his arms around her and pulled her to himself, holding her tightly against his chest, heedless of the dirt, sweat and grime covering her.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry, Cassandra," he whispered hoarsely into her hair. She instantly broke down and began to whimper with relief, slipping her small hands around her husband's waist and clinging to him.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry, too!" she blurted, forcing the words out past the lump in her throat. Neither said anything else for several minutes as they simply held one another. Cassandra, her ear pressed against his broad chest, could hear his heart drumming as he struggled to keep his emotions in check. Eventually, Jenkins gently pushed away from her and took her hand, then began to pull her toward their bed.</p>
<p>"Jenkins…no," she protested softly, trying to pull her hand free. "I-I can't…not right now! Besides, I'm a complete mess..." She stopped struggling, surprised to hear him chuckle quietly.</p>
<p>"That's not what I have in mind," he said, smiling, and continued to lead her to the bed. "Marriage beds are not just for sharing bodies and pleasure, you know; they're also for sharing souls and secrets. I just want you to sit with me while we share our souls with one another—and perhaps share some secrets as well?" He climbed onto the bed, shoes and all, and propped himself against the massive, carved headboard. Cassandra climbed in after him and settled herself against his side. Jenkins slung his right arm around her and cuddled her close as they made themselves comfortable. He turned to kiss the top of her messy head. She smelled of dust and bleach, but he didn't care. He closed his eyes and breathed the smell of her deep into his lungs, happy to have her near him again.</p>
<p>"Please forgive me, Cassandra," he began. "I didn't mean to lose my temper like that this morning, and I certainly didn't mean to call you 'stupid'—you are anything <em>but</em> stupid, and I'm so sorry for hurting you like that!"</p>
<p>"I'm sorry I called you a…" She couldn't bring herself to say the hateful word again. "I'm sorry I used that word with you—that <em>was</em> stupid, and I can't believe I did something so petty and cruel! Can you ever forgive me?" Tears of guilt and remorse threatened to overwhelm her again as she spoke.</p>
<p>"Of course I do, my love," he murmured, hugging her close. "I think perhaps this time I may have actually deserved it."</p>
<p>"No, you didn't!" she cried out, turning her head to look up at him. "You'll <em>never</em> deserve to be treated like that! I said it because I wanted to hurt you! It was mean and spiteful, and I'm so sorry!" She buried her face in his chest, unable to look into his dark, sad eyes anymore. Jenkins brought his hand up to stroke the side of her head.</p>
<p>"Be that as it may, you had plenty of reason to be upset with me," he rumbled determinedly. "And I think we need to talk about that." Cassandra sat upright and wiped the tears from her eyes. Jenkins reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his handkerchief, handed it to her.</p>
<p>"Jenkins, I know you're worried about any danger involved and how I'm maybe too inexperienced to properly use magic," she began slowly while she dabbed her nose and eyes, recalling what Eve had said earlier in the day. "And you're right—what happened in the lab kinda proves that." She felt the muscles of his arm relax ever so slightly.</p>
<p>"But, at the same time, I think you're being <em>too</em> cautious," she went on, encouraged. "Maybe I was wrong to keep Merlin's magic a secret from you. Maybe I <em>should've</em> come to you with it from the beginning and asked for help—but not to keep it hidden away or buried someplace in the Library like an artifact, shut up in a display cabinet and forgotten." She paused for a moment, and he waited, sensing that she wasn't finished with her thought yet.</p>
<p>"We…we have to <em>learn</em> from it, Jenkins; we have to learn all about it and how it works and how we can harness it!" she continued earnestly. "We have to be able to answer questions about it when people on the outside eventually discover it for themselves one day! That might not happen until hundreds of years from now, but we need to be <em>ready</em>—the Library <em>needs</em> to be ready for it when it <em>does</em>happen! And it's not a matter of 'if', Jenkins—it's a matter of 'when', I just know it. It's just a matter of 'when'." She fell silent, waiting for Jenkins to reply.</p>
<p>"And you've been working with this magic for the last three years? Without anyone knowing about it?" he finally asked after several minutes, a slight note of awe in his tone. Cassandra stayed quiet, thinking that the questions were rhetorical. "Have there been any other…'accidents' that I don't know about?"</p>
<p>"No! None!" she said right away, then her voice became thoughtful. "This is the first time anything has gone wrong, I promise! I'm not even sure what happened in the lab; everything went so smoothly up until the other day. It's really amazing how easy it is once you know what to do, how it works." She immediately felt his body tense up again.</p>
<p>"How <em>did</em> you know what to do?" he asked, carefully keeping his natural feelings of fear and revulsion at bay. Cassandra shrugged her shoulders.</p>
<p>"I don't know," she answered. "It just sort of…<em>came</em> to me. I mean, I always known that that there was connection between science and magic, and the Ladies of the Lake only confirmed that suspicion." She felt her husband's body stiffen at the mention of the magical women of "The Lake". She remembered his mistrust of them and their motives, so Cassandra hurried on.</p>
<p>"It was like…a muscle memory, you know? Before I even knew what I was doing, I was just <em>doing</em> it! It wasn't till later when I understood <em>how</em> it worked—with the equations and everything. Before I made the connection between the magic and the math." She shifted on the bed to adjust her position.</p>
<p>"I think the accident happened in the lab because I made some kind of error in the math," she posited, absently rubbing her hand lightly over his belly as she replayed the incident in her mind. "I was trying to bump up its power a little bit, and I was running an equation through it that was only supposed to increase its energy output by only a small fraction, but then, suddenly—BOOM!" She heaved a sigh.</p>
<p>"I guess I just got too caught up in the 'magic' of it and didn't pay close enough attention to the 'math'." Jenkins remained still during the course of her musings, his taut muscles beginning to ache; she looked up at him, her blue eyes wide and wary.</p>
<p>"You're awfully quiet all of a sudden. What are you thinking right now?" she asked, hesitant to hear his answer. He inhaled deeply and hugged her close again as he exhaled.</p>
<p>"I'm afraid for you," he said, his voice flat and sounding almost detached. He didn't want to have this conversation, but he knew it was unavoidable now. She knew about the Old Magic, and she couldn't unlearn that knowledge. He sensed that it was going to drastically change Cassandra, drastically change their relationship, and he wasn't sure he was ready for so much change. "I think you've stumbled onto an affinity for something that, in the end, will bring us nothing but heartache."</p>
<p>"Why do you think that?" she asked, cautiously. Jenkins paused for a moment. He was reluctant to speak any more about the subject of magic; he knew that once he accepted this aspect of his treasured wife, there would be no going back to the way things used to be for them—the simple, quiet, joy-filled time when he was just a Caretaker and she a Librarian. He almost gave in to the temptation, almost changed the subject, but in the end he forced himself to do what he knew he must do. For her sake.</p>
<p>"After the business with the Titanic, when we were in the Library of 1912," he began resolutely. "I had the opportunity to talk to Charlene while I was recovering from my injuries. And we talked a great deal about you." Jenkins felt Cassandra's body shift uneasily against him. He ignored her reaction and went on.</p>
<p>"Charlene said that you carry something that, in the old language, is known as <em>yr Anrheg</em>—the Gift," he said. She could hear the strain in his voice, and knew that this was something he was inordinately uncomfortable talking about. She reached out and took his hand between both of hers and squeezed it, hoping to reassure him.</p>
<p>"I know," she said softly. "Charlene talked to me about it, too." She tilted her face up to look at him. "Only she called it the 'Old Magic'. She said that…you were afraid of it, because it destroyed Camelot. Is that true?" Cassandra heard him swallow and saw his jaw clench briefly. Jenkins blinked rapidly a few times before he looked down and into her eyes.</p>
<p>"It <em>is</em> true," he said. His voice was dull, but she saw hatred flash deep within his dark brown eyes.</p>
<p>"That's all that <em>yr Anrheg</em>—what you call 'Merlin's magic'—has ever left in its wake: Destruction!" he continued, his words suddenly with a sharp edge to them. "I've seen it at work first-hand. I <em>know</em> what it will do, the devastation it carries with it, especially to those who try to master it! Mark me, it's no 'gift', Cassandra; it's a <em>curse</em>, and…I <em>am</em> afraid." Cassandra sat up and turned her body to face him.</p>
<p>"Why? Tell me," she urged him. He turned his face from her, his eyes full of fatigue and fear.</p>
<p>"Because it simply destroys," he said emphatically. "Whatever and whomever it touches, the Old Magic eventually destroys! It's too powerful to be controlled completely; Merlin was the only one to ever have any true mastery over it, but there were times when even <em>he</em> struggled to control its power." Jenkins's expression faded into one of tiredness as he looked away.</p>
<p>"And, in the end, not even Merlin could save himself from it," he continued, unable to keep the bitterness he felt out of his voice. "Merlin thought that Morgan le Fay had the Old Magic, and so he tried to teach her, but it quickly destroyed her, destroyed her sanity. The Old Magic used and destroyed her as much as she used it to destroy everything around her!" Jenkins paused a moment. "At least in part." Cassandra shook her head, confused.</p>
<p>"What do you mean?" she asked. She felt her heart inexplicably begin to flutter wildly inside of her chest, something warning her that she wasn't going to like his answer.</p>
<p>"Because I…contributed to the destruction," he forced himself to admit, and Cassandra stared at him, dumbfounded.</p>
<p>"No!" she breathed, shrinking her head again. "No! I don't believe you!"</p>
<p>"It's true," he whispered. His shoulders slumped, and a look of misery came over his face. "I've been keeping a secret from you, myself, Cassandra." The Librarian's blood ran cold.</p>
<p>"What secret?" she asked, forcing a note of courage into her voice. She didn't want to hear the answer, but she understood that whatever his secret was, she needed to hear it.</p>
<p>"I… Morgan and I… We…" He fumbled for the right words. A terrible realization came to Cassandra.</p>
<p>"You and Morgan were lovers!" she blurted, her pale face the very picture of horrified shock. Jenkins whipped his head around and gaped at her.</p>
<p>"What?" he exclaimed, utterly stunned. "What? No! No! NO! How could you even <em>think</em> that?!" The pressure gripping the Librarian's chest eased considerably, only to be replaced by confusion.</p>
<p>"Sorry!" she breathed. "I don't know why I thought..."</p>
<p>"We were only <em>betrothed</em>!" he rushed on, his tone now slightly offended.</p>
<p>"<em>What?!"</em></p>
<p>Jenkins raised his hand and shook his head to forestall any more outbursts.</p>
<p>"Let me explain," he said quietly. Cassandra cocked her head and stared at him expectantly, her eyes wide and filled with bewilderment.</p>
<p>"If you'll remember, Morgan was King Arthur's sister," he began. "Well, <em>half</em>-sister, actually, but relational hairs weren't split so finely in those days." He shifted his position on the bed so that he could face Cassandra more easily.</p>
<p>"Morgan was always very independent and headstrong, and…well…let's just say that she spread her favors freely amongst the male population at court—much to Arthur's dismay. He decided that she needed a husband, and…" He shrugged his shoulders weakly. "I was chosen."</p>
<p>Cassandra's jaw hung open for several seconds.</p>
<p>"Arthur wanted <em>you</em> to marry his <em>sister</em>?!" she finally squeaked. Jenkins nodded, sighing heavily.</p>
<p>"Yes," he affirmed. "I was single, and I had recovered the Grail by that point, so in Arthur's mind there was no reason for me to remain…pure." Jenkins dropped his eyes and fidgeted a bit, uncomfortable.</p>
<p>"Even though she was much younger than Arthur, but somewhat older than me, he thought that I would be a good influence on her, that I could 'take her in hand', as he put it." A look of distaste crossed the immortal's face.</p>
<p>"Unfortunately, she and I never really got along very well, we were simply opposite personalities. I could only tolerate Morgan under the best of circumstances; I certainly had <em>no</em> desire to be married to her!"</p>
<p>"Then why did you agree to it? Why didn't you tell Arthur 'no'?" Cassandra asked, and Jenkins snorted again and shook his head as a small, wry smile came to his lips.</p>
<p>"One did not say 'no' to the king in those days, my dear, no matter <em>how</em> ridiculous his request!" he answered. "I simply had no choice. He was my liege lord, and I was his man, sworn to obey him in all things, no matter how unpleasant." Jenkins shuddered involuntarily.</p>
<p>"So…you married Morgan…?" Cassandra could barely breathe as she thought of the wicked sorceress so much as <em>touching</em> her husband, let alone… She blinked in surprise as Jenkins chuckled next to her.</p>
<p>"What's so funny?" she snapped sharply.</p>
<p>"No," Jenkins said gently. "Morgan and I never actually married."</p>
<p>"Oh, thank God!" Cassandra exclaimed, clearly relieved. Jenkins gave her an inquisitive look.</p>
<p>"I was just having some <em>really</em> ugly pictures in my head of you and her—naked—and...<em>together</em>!" she went on, looking as though she wanted to vomit. Jenkins shuddered again, more violently this time, as he tightly closed his eyes and clasped his hands in front of his chest.</p>
<p>"Thanks be to all the gods that <em>that</em> never came to pass!" he said fervently, and Cassandra laughed.</p>
<p>"So, if Arthur <em>ordered</em> you to marry her, why didn't you?" the Librarian asked, curious now that she knew Morgan and Jenkins had never done "the deed" together. His brow furrowed and a frown came to his face.</p>
<p>"I don't remember exactly why we never went through with it," he said soberly, becoming serious again. "I'm sure it probably had something to do with her behavior in general, though, and the way she used her magic." He took a deep breath and scowled with disapproval.</p>
<p>"She used it indiscriminately," he said, his voice becoming taut. "She didn't care who she hurt with it, so long as she got what she wanted. And in the end Morgan and her accursed magic destroyed everything—the kingdom, the people, the land itself! Once the Old Magic is unleashed, it is insatiable; it devours everything and everyone in its path—no mercy!"</p>
<p>"But how is any of that <em>your</em> fault?" asked Cassandra, puzzled. Jenkins inhaled deeply and dropped his gaze in shame.</p>
<p>"I didn't marry her," he said simply. He looked up and that his wife was still confused. "She was very keen on us marrying, though why that should have been, I have no idea. I think our breakup—while not the reason for her hatred for Camelot—<em>was</em> the catalyst for her rage. The final straw, so to speak." Cassandra's head tilted to one side as her face took on an expression of sympathy.</p>
<p>"Jenkins, honey!" she said. "That was <em>Morgan's</em> choice, you didn't <em>force</em> her to do anything!" He lifted his eyes to her again, his face worn and pale as the terrible memories flooded his mind.</p>
<p>"She succumbed to the Old Magic; I <em>saw it</em> happen, Cassandra, I <em>saw</em> it with my own eyes!" He raised a trembling hand to touch her face, his eyes once again full of sadness. His voice, barely audible, shook as he spoke, and Cassandra saw tears welling in his desolate eyes.</p>
<p>"And now I fear that it will destroy you, too, because there's no way for me to stop you. You've tasted its power, you're helpless against it now. Whether by death or madness, it <em>will</em> eventually take you away from me!" Horrified, Cassandra grabbed his hand and clutched it tightly again in both of hers.</p>
<p>"No!" she said loudly, firmly. "No, it <em>won't</em>! I won't let it! <em>You</em> won't let it!" Remembering something Eve had told her about years ago, Cassandra clambered to her knees on the bed and took his face in her hands, looked him directly in the eyes.</p>
<p>"Listen to me, Jenkins!" she said, her voice low and husky with emotion. "<em>Nothing</em> will ever take me away from you! Remember what Eve told us after the incident with the Loom of Fate? About the different timelines where me, Jake and Ezekiel were the only Librarian? Do you remember that?" Jenkins gave a tiny nod.</p>
<p>"Remember how she said that in <em>my</em>timeline, I was like a sorceress Librarian—that I had <em>control</em> of magic through math? That's what working with this magic has been like! It <em>doesn't</em> control me, it never has—I control <em>it</em>! With <em>your</em> help, I can learn to control it! I <em>know</em> I can!" Jenkins dropped his eyes and began to shake his head in denial.</p>
<p>"No, no, Cassandra! In the beginning, you <em>think</em> you control it, but the <em>power</em> of it—it corrupts…" he started to protest, but Cassandra, suddenly fired by some inner need to make him understand, grasped his hair in her fists and held his head still as she stared into his bleak brown eyes.</p>
<p>"<em>Listen to me</em>!" she practically shouted at him, and he froze, stunned by the vehemence of her voice and the steely look in her eyes. "I have a <em>gift</em>, Jenkins—not a curse! I'm <em>not</em> cursed!" She leaned in a slightly and set her face with determination.</p>
<p>"It's a <em>part</em> of me, Jenkins, and I can't change it—any more than I can change needing to breathe or having blue eyes! It's a part of me that I <em>don't</em> <em>want</em> to change!" Her husband's eyes dropped and he took a deep breath, but he remained silent. He raised his eyes again and waited. Cassandra took it as a good sign, and plowed on.</p>
<p>"I <em>won't</em> change it, Jenkins. And I <em>can</em>control it, with your help," she said beseechingly. "I just need more practice, I need guidance! And <em>you</em> can do that for me, I <em>know</em> you can! It's <em>not</em> a living thing, it's not good or evil, it just…<em>is</em>. The magic's base is mathematics and physics, and mathematics and physics can be mastered!" She let go of his hair, her hands sliding to lightly cup his face.</p>
<p>"Math has no intent, takes no sides, has no agenda, Jenkins—it simply exists!" she went on, desperate to get through to him. "It's the <em>people</em> who have the agendas! The magic didn't make Morgan insane or evil; that came from inside Morgan herself, <em>she</em> made the magic evil by how she used it! Can you understand what I'm saying, sweetheart? The magic didn't destroy Camelot, and <em>you</em> didn't have anything to do with causing the destruction of Camelot: <em>Morgan</em> did that! And I wasn't using magic for evil in that other timeline, I was using it for <em>good</em>, to help <em>save</em> people! If I could control the Old Magic and use it for good in that timeline, why can't I do the same in <em>this</em> timeline?"</p>
<p>"Cassandra-" he began to protest, dropping his eyes and shaking his head slowly. She didn't give him the opportunity to finish. She took his face in her hands and looked at him imploringly, her voice cracking under the weight of her emotions.</p>
<p>"Jenkins, please! Don't make me choose between you and this gift!" she whispered, tears beginning to well in her blue eyes. "<em>Please</em> don't let this drive a wedge between us! We can do this, I <em>know</em> we can! We can overcome this and make the Old Magic work for us, but only if we do it <em>together</em>! I <em>need</em> you, sweetheart—<em>please</em>!"</p>
<p>As they stared into each other's eyes, her words struck a tiny spark of hopefulness to life within him. Could she be right? Could there possibly be a way to actually control the Old Magic? He had forgotten about what Eve Baird had seen at the Loom of Fate. What Cassandra was proposing—could it possibly be done? Was he himself knowledgeable enough in magic lore and practice to be a suitable teacher and guide for her? Morgan had Merlin to guide her, but she had turned away from his wisdom and guidance. But Cassandra, while impetuous at times, was a gifted student—studious and eager to learn. It seemed almost too optimistic to believe possible, and yet...</p>
<p>How many times over the years had this spirited young woman surprised him with her strength and resilience, her determination and courage? It suddenly came to him that perhaps this situation wasn't so much about control as it was about <em>trust</em>. Trust in Cassandra, trust in her gifts, trust in their marriage, trust in their partnership. Trust in what the two of them could achieve, <em>together</em>.</p>
<p>Jenkins reached out his hands and pulled her forward. When she was close enough he leaned forward to meet her with a kiss, soft and chaste at first, becoming more heated and passionate as Cassandra recovered from the surprise of it and responded. Without breaking the kiss, she moved to straddle him, entwining her arms around his neck, entangling the fingers of one hand into the hair at the back of his head. Jenkins pulled her close and held her tightly as he moved his lips from hers and nuzzled his way over her grimy cheek to her ear, then down and over her throat, peppering her skin with soft, tiny kisses. Cassandra fell against his body and fit herself into its contours, kissing his soft neck and whimpering quietly while he wrapped her tiny body in his long arms.</p>
<p>They lay together like that, quietly, for a long time, his musk filling her nose and making her feel safe. Jenkins, his eyes closed, felt her trembling against him, and he put his lips next to her ear.</p>
<p>"I want nothing more in this world than to protect you, my love, from anything and everything that could hurt you in any way," he whispered to her. "I never dreamed of finding someone like you; I never dreamed that I could ever be so happy, and I don't want to lose that, Cassandra! I don't want to lose <em>you</em>. As selfish as that is, I want to hide you away and keep you all for myself!" Cassandra started to raise herself up and protest, but he held her firmly in place.</p>
<p>"But I know that's impossible," he hurried to say. "You would never be happy with a life like that; it would be like trying to keep a unicorn in a cage. You would wither and die just as surely as the unicorn would." Jenkins loosened his hold and she instantly sat up to look down into his face. Jenkins laid his hand along the side of her face and looked deeply into her clear blue eyes.</p>
<p>"Or worse yet, you would quickly grow to resent and hate me for keeping you locked up. And as much as I fear losing you to the Old Magic, I fear losing your love <em>more</em>. As deeply as I fear what the future might bring us, Cassandra, I know that I have to let you be what you are meant to be. I have to let you have the freedom to choose your own path in this life. I have to...<em>trust</em> that you're right about this. And I promise to do all that I can to help you."</p>
<p>"Jenkins...!" she whispered, stunned by this sudden change of heart. He looked up into her shining eyes, reached up to brush her cheek with back of his finger. He had always expected her to trust him, it was only right that he trust her just as completely. He also needed to be <em>completely</em> honest with her...</p>
<p>"Cassandra," he said solemnly. "I have another secret that I've been keeping from you." The Librarian's body stiffened again, her hands resting on his chest. She looked down into his eyes, a shadow of trepidation crossing her face.</p>
<p>"What secret?" she asked, scanning his expression for some clue as to what he could be talking about. Jenkins fixed his gaze on her worried blue eyes.</p>
<p>"For the last year I've been working on finding a way for you to become immortal."</p>
<p>He was blunt, and it took her a few seconds to process what he'd just said to her. When it finally sank in, her eyes went wide and she gaped at him.</p>
<p>"What?!" she gasped. "Why?!" He reached up to brush her long red hair away from her face.</p>
<p>"Because I love you, Cassandra," he said. "Perhaps I love you <em>too</em> much, but I simply cannot bear the thought of outliving you. I'm not one of those immortals who can go through their lives collecting an endless string of lovers and spouses. Perhaps I'm merely weak or a coward, but I can't love anyone as deeply as I love you and then, once they're gone, push the memory of them away and begin again with someone new. I just…can't. It's too painful for me." He paused and took a breath before plunging ahead with the details.</p>
<p>"After our Sealing, I decided to try and do something to remedy the situation, and so I've been searching the Library's resources for some way of making you immortal." He pushed himself up straighter against the headboard and leaned forward slightly.</p>
<p>"I would <em>never</em> force you to do it, of course, please believe me!" he rushed on to say. "I just wanted us to…have the option. I wanted it to be available for you to choose if you wanted to." Cassandra sat back on his thighs, stunned at his revelation. She knew how much he dreaded outliving her; they'd had several conversations about it in the past, but he had never so much as hinted at trying to actively do something about it.</p>
<p>"What…have you found?" she finally asked weakly. Jenkins shook his head and dropped his gaze for a moment.</p>
<p>"Nothing, so far," he said.</p>
<p>"<em>That's</em> why you've been spending so much time in the Archives."</p>
<p>"Yes," he admitted. Cassandra said nothing for moment.</p>
<p>"So what's the plan if you never do find anything?" she probed. She might as well know the whole truth about this scheme of his.</p>
<p>"In that case…" he began, and paused, reluctant to tell her everything. He noted that she didn't outright reject his plan to make her immortal, and that encouraged him. He took a breath and laid his cards on the table.</p>
<p>"In that case, I would look for someone to whom I can transfer my immortality," he said. "Perhaps Mr. Jones or Mr. Stone, if they're still with the Library and are amenable, when the time comes. If not, then I would look for someone outside of the Library who is willing to take it on." Cassandra's jaw fell open, shocked.</p>
<p>"But…you'll die!" she said. "<em>Why</em> would you do that?" Jenkins shifted uneasily.</p>
<p>"We've had this talk before, my love," he replied kindly. "And there are worse fates than death, I assure you. If you can't be made immortal, then at least this way I won't have to wait so long for my own end to come. When it does, we can finally be together in the next world and never have to worry about being separated ever again."</p>
<p>Cassandra struggled to keep her emotions under control as she looked down into his eyes. She'd never been loved like this by anyone in her life before, not even her parents. No one had ever loved her so much that they would willingly give up their life for her. Her lower lip quivered as she reached out to lay her hand on his face. He laid his hand on top of hers and drew it to his lips so that he could tenderly kiss her palm.</p>
<p>"We <em>are</em> Sealed, Cassandra—our souls <em>are</em> bound," he murmured. "Our Sealing is a great gift and a great blessing, and I consider it my most precious treasure after yourself—but it's not enough for me. I don't want to be separated from you for a single second longer than I need to be. Perhaps I'm being selfish or greedy or just plain foolish, but I'm determined to do whatever I must in order for us to be together; in this world, in the next, it doesn't matter. Wherever <em>you</em> are, that's where I want to be."</p>
<p>Cassandra's eyes filled with tears as she listened to him speak. When he was finished, she leaned forward and softly kissed his forehead, then brought her lips to his again for another hesitant, shy kiss that quickly warmed to one of desire. Jenkins felt a tear slip onto his cheek, tasted its saltiness as it slid between them as they kissed. He put his hands on either side of her head, clinging to her as the kiss deepened, igniting hunger within them both.</p>
<p>They all but tore the clothes off of each other in each one's haste to touch the other's naked flesh, and soon the pair were in each other's arms, making love, each desperate to push away the painful uncertainty of their future together, if only for a short time.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Abduction</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jenkins awoke the next morning to a dark room. He turned his head to check the old-fashioned wind-up clock on his nightstand; the sun wouldn't clear the horizon for at least another two hours. Snuggled next to him underneath the warm blankets was Cassandra, sleeping peacefully.</p>
<p>They'd talked some more, late into the night, after their bout of passion. Cassandra tried to convince him that she could indeed learn to control the Old Magic and that he shouldn't sacrifice his immortality for her; Jenkins tried to convince her of the inherent danger of the Old Magic and reiterated his position that he simply could not bear the prospect of a millennia-long life without her. He tried to convince her that if it was at all possible for them to at least have the <em>option</em> of making her immortal, why shouldn't they have it? And why should he be forced to remain in this life, all alone, if he could give his immortality to a suitable person and join her in the afterlife as soon as possible? Cassandra, in turn, reminded him of his vow that he would never harm himself if he outlived her. In the end, neither managed to <em>completely</em> win over the other, but Jenkins reiterated his pledge to support her as best he could, while she promised to be careful when exploring the boundaries of her gift and trust his guidance.</p>
<p>The immortal sighed, gently kissed his wife's temple, then carefully extricated himself from her arms so as not to wake her, tucking the blankets around her to keep her warm in the chilly room. He went to the bathroom for a quick shower before getting dressed and ready for the day ahead.</p>
<p>He next headed for the kitchen for his first cup of tea for the day, humming a lively Billie Holliday tune from the 1930's as he walked. He stopped in his tracks as soon as he opened the kitchen door, startled to find Eve Baird already there, leaning on the countertop as she nursed a cup of black coffee and thumbed through an old People magazine.</p>
<p>"Hey, Skip! Good morning!" she greeted, smiling as she looked up and recognized him. "How's it going?" Recovering from his surprise, Jenkins strode over to the counter.</p>
<p>"Good morning, Colonel," he responded carefully. "I'm well, thank you." His eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Not that I'm not pleased to see you this morning, Colonel, but I'm afraid I have to ask: What are you doing here?" Baird gave him a lopsided smile and shrugged her shoulder carelessly.</p>
<p>"Reading a bad magazine, drinking an even worse cup of coffee. How 'bout you?" The Caretaker dropped his head and gave her a stern, disapproving look.</p>
<p>"You know very well what I mean," he scolded. "It's almost six o'clock in the morning. You are <em>never</em> here at six o'clock in the morning, at least not of your own free will. So I ask you again: What are you doing here at six o'clock in the morning?" Eve sighed and straightened up, turned to face him.</p>
<p>"I had a little bit of girl talk with Cassandra yesterday morning; she told me a little about the argument you two had," she answered plainly. "She told me last night that after dinner she was going to talk to you again and apologize, try to patch things up between you. S-o-o-o…I thought I'd hang around and see how it went—just in case anyone needed a shoulder to cry on afterwards." Shrugging, she took a drink of her coffee and made a face. "Ugh! That stuff's awful!"</p>
<p>Jenkins's expression had instantly become tense at the mention of the fight he'd had with Cassandra, but it soon softened at Eve's explanation. He reached over and took the cup of lukewarm coffee away from the Guardian and carried it over to the sink.</p>
<p>"So you've been here all night, then," he said, pouring the coffee down the drain and rinsing out the mug. He set it on the counter and began to make a large pot of tea for the both of them. Baird shrugged her shoulders.</p>
<p>"Yep; I thought that while Flynn was gone I would just stay here and sleep in his old bedroom in the Library instead of staying all alone in our apartment. That way, if something urgent comes up, I'm already here and ready to go." She came over to stand next to Jenkins and watched him prepare the tea for a few moments in silence.</p>
<p>"S-o-o-o-o…how <em>did</em> it go last night?" she finally prodded after a couple of minutes. "Or is it none of my business?" Jenkins snorted softly.</p>
<p>"Things went well," he replied genially as they waited for the kettle to boil. "We both apologized, 'patched things up', as you say. We had a nice, long conversation." When he said nothing further, Baird tilted her head and waved a hand.</p>
<p>"That's it? I stay up all night reading crappy five-year-old magazines, drinking coffee that tastes like it was strained through a pair of dirty underwear and <em>that's</em> all I get?" she complained. The immortal smiled at her.</p>
<p>"If I tell you everything now, Colonel, won't that spoil your 'debriefing' with Cassandra later today after she wakes up?" he said chidingly, and Eve laughed.</p>
<p>"I just like to get <em>both</em> sides where juicy gossip is concerned!" she said, grinning. Jenkins rolled his eyes and huffed a dramatic sigh.</p>
<p>When the tea was ready, Jenkins poured them each a cup, and the two friends drank and talked about unimportant things for the next half-hour, not even bothering to sit at the small kitchen table. Eve was dying to get more details about the talk he and Cassandra had last night, but it would have to wait until she saw the Librarian later that morning. She knew it was useless trying to get anything more out of the tight-lipped immortal.</p>
<p>"The guys will be in soon," Eve announced, checking her watch. "I think I'll make a donut run over to Vudu's and try to get back before they get here—any special requests?" Jenkins clapped his hands softly together at the suggestion, his face brightening at the idea of one the sinful, sugary treats.</p>
<p>"Why don't I drive you, Colonel?" he volunteered as he checked his pockets to make sure he had his wallet and then walked over to the keyboard for the keys to the station wagon. "I like to drive the car every once in a while, just to make sure everything is running as it should. I'll even buy this time!" Eve gave the old man an exaggerated look of surprise.</p>
<p>"You'll drive <em>and</em> buy, suh?" she gasped, speaking with a fake Southern accent and fanning herself in a dramatic fashion. She was rewarded with a familiar stony glare, and she laughed. "<em>There's </em>the Jenkins I know and love!"</p>
<p>As soon as Eve had her coat on, the pair walked the long, dark concrete corridor that led to the Annex's front door, discussing the merits of the various kinds of pastries to be found at the donut shop. The Caretaker unlocked the steel door and pulled it open, chivalrously standing aside to allow Eve to pass through it first. He followed her out, pulling the door closed behind him, then turned to lock it again.</p>
<p>He had just enough time to see a shadow moving in the corner of his eye before all hell broke loose and the world around him went black.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>Baird?! Baird?! Can you hear me?!</em>
</p>
<p>The Guardian's eyes fluttered open slowly at the sound of her name. <em>Who's calling me?</em> she wondered dully, blinking against the bright morning sunlight. It sounded vaguely like Jake.</p>
<p>She tried to push herself up into a sitting position, and was immediately overcome by a wave of pain and nausea; her head felt like it was going to explode. She closed her eyes and slumped back to ground, groaning. She tasted the metallic tang of blood on her tongue.</p>
<p>"Baird!" a voice said again loudly, and this time she was able to definitely identify it as Jacob Stone. She could also feel him lightly gripping her shoulder with one hand while he did a cursory exam with the other. She could hear another voice now, as well—Ezekiel Jones.</p>
<p>"Stone?" she mumbled, and tried to sit up again. The ground was rock hard, the sun blindingly bright in the pale blue sky overhead, the St. John Bridge towering overhead. She realized that she was outside.</p>
<p>"No, no, no, no!" he chided her gently, pushed her back. "Don't move! You've got a real nasty bump on your head and your face is a mess! Do you remember what happened?" Baird suddenly felt the freezing cold that had crept into her body, and she grimaced as she struggled to remember how she'd ended up on the frosty winter ground outside of the Annex.</p>
<p>No," she said faintly. Her mouth hurt, and she reached her hand up to gingerly touch it; her lips were coated with a thin glaze of sticky, half-frozen blood. "Me and Jenkins—we were going to get donuts…" Suddenly, a memory flashed before her eyes and she forced herself to sit up, crying out at the stab of pain in the back of her head. She grabbed the lapel of Jake's heavy winter jacket, both to get his attention and to steady herself against the blinding dizziness.</p>
<p>"Jenkins! Where's Jenkins?!" she all but yelled, panic in her voice. Jake and Ezekiel exchanged quick, worried glances.</p>
<p>"I don't know," Stone answered tightly. "He wasn't here when we got here. We just found you lyin' out here, unconscious, when we got here." Eve's eyes widened and she frantically looked around for the Caretaker, wincing at the pain as she stiffly moved her head.</p>
<p>"Jenkins!" she called out hoarsely, and tried to get to her feet. "<em>Jenkins</em>!" Jake forced her back to the ground.</p>
<p>"Eve, don't move!" he ordered. He looked up at Jones.</p>
<p>"Ezekiel, go see if Jenkins is inside the Annex," he instructed.</p>
<p>"Right!" Jones said, nodding curtly before he took off, while Jake turned back to the Guardian.</p>
<p>"You're hurt, Eve! You've been hit in the head, you've got one hell of a shiner comin' in, your nose is bleedin', and your knuckles are all scraped up. Judgin' from the way the ground looks, you were in one hell of a fight, and recently, too."</p>
<p>Eve looked down at her hands and saw that they were, indeed, scraped and bloodied, especially on her right hand. She reached up to touch her nose and winced. When she took her hand away, her fingers were again stained with blood.</p>
<p>She shook her head and tried to get up again. <em>What the hell happened? Where's Jenkins? </em>She had a sour feeling in the pit of her stomach—something bad had happened, that much was obvious. She tried to force herself to remember any details, but nothing would come. The only thing she had to go on for certain right now was the powerful feeling that Jenkins was in danger.</p>
<p>"We don't have time for this, Stone! Jenkins…!" The Librarian grabbed her shoulders and held her steady until she looked into his eyes.</p>
<p>"It's okay," he said calmly. "We'll find 'im. But right now we have to take care of <em>you</em>. You think you can walk on your own?" Eve nodded her head, and fought down the urge to vomit that came with it. Jacob helped her up onto her feet, careful to hold onto her in case her legs wouldn't hold her up. She swayed a bit at first until the fresh wave of nausea passed, then, on wobbly legs, she allowed the young man to help her slowly stumble into the Annex. As they slowly made their way back to the workroom, Eve racked her brain to remember what exactly had happened.</p>
<p>As soon as they reached the workroom, Jake sat Eve down in the first chair they came to. He began a second, more thorough exam of the injured Guardian, peering into her eyes and gently checking her nose, her hands and the large knot on the back of the head, muttering to himself the entire time. On this second look, he found another large bruise on the side of her head, just behind her right ear, that had been hidden by her hair, a clear indication that she had been struck at least twice during her attack. Finally he stood up, a grim look on his stubbled face.</p>
<p>"Your hand seems to be okay, but your nose is broken," the Librarian said shortly. "There's a big ugly bruise towards the back of your head—and I'm guessin' that was the first blow." Jake stared down at her.</p>
<p>"Looks like you were jumped from behind," he said, his blue eyes beginning to flash angrily. "Do you remember anything? Anything at all? Who did this to you? Did they take Jenkins?" Jake began to fire off questions, too quickly for the groggy Eve to keep up with. She groaned and started shaking her head, at the same time weakly pushing him away with one hand.</p>
<p>"Baird! You've got to tell me what happened!" Jake persisted. "What happened, Eve? What…" Suddenly Ezekiel was there next to him, grabbing the increasingly agitated Librarian's arm and pulling him away.</p>
<p>"Don't badger her, man," he said quietly. "Can't you see she's still half out of it? Probably can't remember that much about what happened anyway, at least not right now." Jake opened his mouth to protest, but at that moment a hastily-dressed Cassandra ran into the room. She hadn't even taken the time to brush her hair, only pulled it back into a messy ponytail. As soon as she saw Eve, a horrible feeling of dread filled her.</p>
<p>"Where's Jenkins?" the redhead demanded, on the edge of panic as she rapidly scanned the room looking for her husband. "What's happened?" Jake went to her and lightly put his hands on her shoulders.</p>
<p>"We don't know yet," he answered gruffly. "We just got here and found Eve layin' on the ground outside, unconscious." He stared into her eyes, desperation on his face. "She spent the night <em>here</em> last night—do you have any idea what might've happened?" Dismayed, Cassandra shook her head.</p>
<p>"No," she said weakly. "I didn't know she was here! I never saw her! Why was she here?"</p>
<p>"All she told me was that you and Jenkins had a fight yesterday, but that you were going to try and talk to him again; she said she was going to stay here in case things didn't work out and one of you needed to talk to someone." A look of confusion and mounting fear come to the young Librarian's face.</p>
<p>"No!" she exclaimed. "We made up! Jenkins was waiting for me in our room, we were there all night! We didn't fall asleep until late; I didn't wake up until Ezekiel started banging on our door just now, looking for Jenkins!" She looked around at the grim faces of the men and the bloodied, injured face of Eve. Terror overtook her.</p>
<p>"Jake, what's happened?!" she cried, clutching his arms. "Where's Jenkins?!" He tightened his hands around her upper arms.</p>
<p>"We don't know yet," he repeated calmly, hoping to soothe Cassandra in turn. "We..."</p>
<p>Eve groaned and started sliding off of her chair. Stone let go of the anxious Librarian and started for the Guardian, but Ezekiel rushed over and caught her before she could fall. Stone turned to give Cassandra a worried look.</p>
<p>"We gotta get her to the infirmary!" he barked. Cassandra nodded and hurried over to take one side while Ezekiel took the other, and together all three Librarians helped Eve make her way painfully to the Library's small medical center. Once there, they eased her onto the examination table. Jake—the veteran of many a barroom brawl—expertly reset her broken nose, while Jones went through a nearby cabinet in search of a particular potion, looking for the distinctively-shaped bottle that Jenkins always used whenever any of them were seriously injured.</p>
<p>"Got it!" the thief crowed. Eve cried out in pain at the same moment as Jake forced her nose back into place.</p>
<p>"Sorry!" the Librarian growled, and examined his work. Satisfied, he waved Jones over and took the heavy crystal bottle from him. Jake measured out three tablespoons of the thick cobalt liquid into a glass, then diluted it with warm water, just as he'd seen Jenkins do many times. He carried the glass over to Eve and helped her to sit up, then held the glass to her lips.</p>
<p>"Here—drink this," Jake instructed her gently. "It'll make you feel better." Eve took hold of the glass with her left hand and began to drink. She gagged and spit part of the foul-tasting stuff back into the glass.</p>
<p>"Ugh! God! Stone!" she moaned, grimacing. "What the hell <em>is</em> that? It tastes like it's been run through a sweaty jock-strap!" She tried to shove the glass away, but Jake held it firmly in front of her.</p>
<p>"<em>Not</em> gonna ask how you know that," Stone muttered. "But you have to drink all of it. It'll kill the pain and speed up your recovery, especially those head injuries." Baird made a face of disgust, but she was in too much pain and too fatigued to fight him on it. She took a deep breath and held it while she chugged the repulsive potion as fast as she could. Almost immediately the painful throbbing in her head and face ceased. A wave of pleasant warmth washed over her body, and she felt so incredibly sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open.</p>
<p>"Stone? What's happening...?" she said, then yawned loudly. The Librarian gently pushed her back onto the table.</p>
<p>"Shhhhhh," he soothed, holding her uninjured hand and patting it. "Just close your eyes and rest. Go to sleep. When you wake up you'll feel good as new!" She didn't hear half of what he said, however; she was asleep the moment her head touched the thin pillow on the exam table. Jake covered her with a warm blanket, careful to tuck it in around her. He then turned to face the others.</p>
<p>"She'll be out for at least six hours," he informed them, scanning each of their faces. Jones's face was blank, Cassandra looked to be on the edge of hysteria. He jammed his hands into his jacket pockets and glared angrily at his companions.</p>
<p>"Since we won't be able to talk to Baird until she wakes up, I suggest we use that time to try and piece together what happened so we can decide what to do next!"</p>
<hr/>
<p>As soon as the Librarians returned to the workroom, Jake took command. He had Ezekiel pull up the recorded video from the security cameras mounted over the Annex's front door. A few swift keystrokes, and the Australian had it. Everyone gathered around behind him to see what the camera had caught.</p>
<p>Eve had insisted on installing top of the line surveillance equipment during the complete overhaul of the Library's security systems a few years ago. Flynn had balked at the idea—and the expense—but the Guardian stuck to her guns on it, and now Jake was glad Flynn had let Eve have her way. Unlike the grainy, near-useless footage found in convenience stores and gas stations, these images were crystal clear. The timestamp informed them that Jenkins and Eve had exited the Annex at 5:47 AM. It was still dark outside at this time of year, and the security light shone brightly down on the area immediately outside of the doorway. They watched on the passageway camera as Jenkins unlocked and opened the heavy steel door, then watched on the outside camera as he allowed Baird to pass through first.</p>
<p>Eve stopped and stood a few paces down the walkway with her back to Jenkins while he turned to lock the door behind them. Suddenly, several large black shadows emerged from the darkness where the security light couldn't penetrate. One shadow slipped into the space between the Guardian and the Caretaker and struck Eve in the back of her head with what looked like the butt of an automatic rifle that he carried, and she fell to her knees, stunned. At the same time, another shadow slipped up behind Jenkins and put a black hood over his head, while a third figure knelt on all fours to allow a fourth man to climb onto his back. The climber reached up toward the security camera and sprayed the lens with something that totally blacked out the picture.</p>
<p>"Dammit!" yelled Jake in frustration as he turned away from the computer and shoved his hands into his hair. Cassandra gasped and covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes squeezed shut. Ezekiel began typing frantically on the keyboard.</p>
<p>"No worries, cowboy," he said steadily, one corner of his mouth sliding up into a knowing smirk. "Baird insisted on installing a back-up camera, this one hidden, just in case something exactly like this happened to the primary camera or it malfunctioned. A-a-and here we go!"</p>
<p>Jake rushed back to lean over Ezekiel's shoulders to see the monitor. The images were still shot from above the door, but at a slightly different angle, the camera's field of vision aimed more in the direction of the residential neighborhood that began a couple of hundred feet away. Jones began the video from this camera at the point where the primary camera was disabled.</p>
<p>They saw again the dark hood pulled over Jenkins's head. Before the Caretaker had a chance to react, three more shadows were on him, kicking his feet out from underneath him and taking him to the ground face-down as he struggled valiantly against them. Finally, one of the attackers managed to place his knee in the middle of the old man's back to keep him pinned to the cold concrete pad, while two others forced Jenkins's arms behind his back and bound them with zip-ties. Two more men did the same with his ankles. When he was completely bound and helpless, the men picked him up and carried him off as fast as they could toward the street and were soon lost in the darkness.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Baird struggled to regain her feet, her hand clutching the back of her head. She got up just in time to see them carrying Jenkins past her, and she staggered after them. One of the black-clad figures broke off from the group and went back to engage the Guardian. She managed to get in one solid punch, but her fist landed on the side of the black helmet he was wearing. The team watched, horrified, as the shadowy figure drew back his own fist while Eve snatched her hand away and held it against her chest. He punched her squarely in the face, breaking her nose. The Guardian's hands flew instinctively to her face as she fell to the ground onto her knees again. Her attacker then gave her head a vicious roundhouse kick that sent her sprawling unconscious onto the stiff, frost-coated grass. The shadow then approached Baird, at the same time drawing something from a sheath strapped to his right calf. There was just enough light for the Librarians to recognize the object as a large, heavy-bladed knife.</p>
<p>Cassandra gasped in horror as the man straddled Eve's prone body and grabbed her hair to pull her head up, bringing the knife's blade to the helpless woman's throat. Suddenly, headlights flashed on from a car parked down the street in front of one of the residences. The man's head snapped over in the direction of the lights, and as they began to move in his direction, he let go of the Guardian's head. He gave her head a final vicious kick before running off in the direction his compatriots had taken.</p>
<p>A few seconds later they could see the distant taillights of a vehicle flash for moment before speeding away. They watched the footage a few seconds longer, but nothing else happened. The whole thing had taken less than five minutes.</p>
<p>"Oh, my God," Cassandra whispered hoarsely, her shaking hands moving up to cover her whole face for a moment. She dropped her hands and looked at the others, her eyes wide with fear. "Oh, my God! Jenkins...!"</p>
<p>Stone's face was hard as he stared at the image of Baird lying unconscious on the ground outside of the Annex. It was winter in Portland right now; if he and Jones hadn't arrived when they did, found her when they did... He shook his head and pushed the ugly image out of his mind. Eve was immortal now, yes, but as Jenkins's recent experience with the Titanic demonstrated, that was no real defense against frostbite. Her case wouldn't have been nearly as severe as the Caretaker's had been, but it was still something to be avoided. And besides that, the attackers didn't know she was immortal; they'd simply left her there, exposed to the elements, not caring whether she lived or died, and Jake Stone was not all right with that attitude.</p>
<p>"Okay, here's what we're gonna do," he said, standing straight and putting a hand on Ezekiel's shoulder. "Jones: Me and you are gonna go outside and examine the area. I'm a pretty fair tracker; I'll take a look at the tracks and the scuff marks on the ground and see what I can find out. You look around for anything that might be a clue, take pictures of the tracks and of <em>anything</em> that can't be moved but looks like it doesn't belong so we can examine them later if we need to."</p>
<p>"Right!" answered Jones, turning and heading outside with his phone.</p>
<p>"Cassandra, tell me what you and Jenkins were talkin' about last night," he said. Seeing her look of alarm and reluctance, he hurried to reassure her.</p>
<p>"I'm not askin' just out of curiosity," he said. "And I'm not askin' you to break any confidences you have with Jenkins. I just wanna know if there's a connection between what you talked about with Jenkins and Eve yesterday. Maybe she talked to someone after she talked to you. It's a longshot, I know, but we hafta explore every possibility if we want to find out what happened to Jenkins and find 'im."</p>
<p>Cassandra hesitated for a few moments, not sure if she was ready for anyone other than her husband to know about her tie to Merlin's magic; she'd kept a lot of things to herself at the debriefing meeting after the end of their Titanic adventure. But in the end she decided that Jake was right, and now was not the time to keep secrets. She sighed tiredly and dropped into the chair where Ezekiel had been sitting a few minutes ago, and she quickly began to tell the Librarian everything.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Jenkins grunted as he was thrown down onto a hard, cold surface. He heard doors slam behind him as an engine revved, and whatever type of vehicle they were in began to speed away. The moment his captors released him he began to struggle against his bonds. Hands immediately clamped hard onto his limbs again to immobilize him. Through the hood over his head, he felt a hand brush the side of his head. Jenkins seized the opportunity; he turned his head and snapped at the hand. He was pleased to feel his teeth sink into the man's flesh, and he heard a yelp with pain. A sharp, stunning blow landed just behind his right temple as the immortal's victim swore at him. Jenkins went limp, feigning unconsciousness. He almost cried out as his assailant unexpectedly kicked him in the ribs, but through sheer force of will he was able to remain still.</p>
<p>"Cut it out!" a voice nearby barked harshly.</p>
<p>"The son of a bitch bit me!" a voice directly overhead protested. Wincing beneath the hood at the pain in his side, Jenkins focused on listening intently to the exchange.</p>
<p>"I don't care!" the first man snapped back. "The orders are to bring him in unharmed!"</p>
<p>"But..."</p>
<p>"I. Don't. Care!" the apparent leader ground out. "Those're the orders, Corporal, so suck it up and sit down! <em>Now</em>! Before I <em>force</em> you to sit down!"</p>
<p>"Yes, sir!" spat the first man, clearly not happy.</p>
<p>Jenkins's frowned. Evidently he was being abducted by either a group associated with the military, or perhaps a para-military group, possibly mercenaries. But why? From the terse exchange between his kidnappers, Jenkins was at least able to learn that whoever was behind this abduction, they wanted him alive and in one piece—which meant he was considered valuable to them. Perhaps he could use that knowledge to his advantage. He instantly thought of the Department of Statistical Anomalies, but Jenkins quickly dismissed that idea. The Library was currently under an agreement with the secret government agency, and though he knew DOSA had been eager to capture him when they invaded the Library two years ago, he also knew General Rockwell was an honorable enough soldier that she wouldn't break the truce.</p>
<p>Nothing more was said between his captors as the drive wore on, and Jenkins soon turned his thoughts to Eve Baird. Was she with him in the vehicle right now? Was she being kidnapped as well? Was she all right? He'd called out to her as they carried him away from the Annex, yelled for her to run away, but all he'd heard from her was a cry of pain. He fervently hoped she was all right.</p>
<p>He then began to worry about Cassandra; after what they had gone through with the Heart of Sorrow, she was certain to be absolutely frantic when she woke up and discovered what had happened to him. He closed his eyes and took a few deep, quiet, slow breaths as he tried to calm his own jangled nerves. It took some time, but when he finally felt calm enough, he turned his focus onto himself, on his Sealing bond with his wife. Almost instantly he could feel her fear and panic: She was already awake and knew that he'd been kidnapped. He closed his eyes and redoubled his effort, this time focusing his mind on her, sending reassurances that he was all right, hoping to communicate to her that he was alive and unharmed.</p>
<p>It was all he could do for now.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Tensions Rise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jacob and Ezekiel stalked into the workroom and peeled off their winter coats and gloves, grim expressions on both of their faces.</p><p>"Well? What did you find?" demanded Cassandra impatiently as she rushed across the workroom. Jones retrieved his phone from his coat pocket and went straight to his computer, while Stone pulled a familiar keyring out of his pocket and dropped them onto the table. Cassandra recognized it instantly. It was Jenkins's keyring, made all of brass with a shield bearing the coat of arms of Sir Galahad on fob end of the short chain. It had been a stocking-stuffer, something silly that she'd bought for him on a Christmas shopping trip in London with Eve a couple of years ago. The keys to the Annex's front door and the keys to the station wagon on it.</p><p>"Found those stickin' out of the lock in the door," Jake said. "He didn't even have time to put 'em in his coat pocket." Cassandra stared at the keys as Stone began to fill her in on what else they had found.</p><p>"From the looks of things, there were at least six of 'em," he said. "Plus however many of 'em were waitin' in the escape vehicle. From the partial tire tracks I found in the snow at the edge of the street where they parked, my guess is they were drivin' a van or an SUV of some kind." Jake ran his hand anxiously over his unshaven jaw.</p><p>"These guys were pros, Cass. Other than a few scuffmarks in the frost in the grassy areas, they left nuthin' behind, though we did find one clear footprint near the tire tracks, so that's a break for us. From those and what ground disturbance I could see, it looks like they were waitin' for Baird and Jenkins."</p><p>"An ambush?" Cassandra wondered, her brow furrowing. "But why? And why did they only take <em>Jenkins</em>? Why not Eve, too?"</p><p>"Maybe if we knew who those men in black were, we'd know the 'why' part," offered Ezekiel, his eyes glued to his computer screen as he uploaded the dozens of pictures he had taken of the tracks they'd found.</p><p>"Hey, yeah!" Jake, shouted and snapped his fingers, turned toward the startled Librarians. "The men in black! Of course! It makes sense now!" Ezekiel exchanged a confused glance with Cassandra. Jake saw the looks and raised his hands, his eyes widening questioningly.</p><p>"Don't you guys get it?<em> Special Ops</em> men in black!"</p><p>"Special Ops? You mean, like, the military?" exclaimed Ezekiel, surprised. "What would the military want with Jenkins?"</p><p>"<em>Not</em> the military, not like the <em>army</em>," countered Jake, shaking his head emphatically. "At least they aren't the ones calling the shots: I think <em>DOSA</em> is behind this!"</p><p>"DOSA!?" Cassandra exclaimed. "But we have an agreement with DOSA! They stay out of our way, and we pass along any information we come across about magical threats to national security and how to neutralize them!"</p><p>"Right, because the Uncle Sam has <em>never</em> broken a treaty or an agreement, <em>ever</em>, in the entire history of the United States! Just ask <em>any</em> Native American—<em>they'll</em> tell you!" scoffed Jones from his desk. He waved for the others to come over.</p><p>"I got some fairly clear images of the tracks outside," he said. "There are actually several national forensic databases out there for shoe and tire track impressions. Basically, they're full of nothing but the tread patterns of all kinds of footwear and tires that allows cops to make identifications of tracks made at crime scenes. They can determine make, model, manufacturer, dates of manufacture, that kind of stuff. I hacked into the largest ones and ran the pictures of our tracks through them. Turns out our boys were wearing Gore-Tex Intermediate Weather combat–style boots, standard military issue, though civilians have access to them, too."</p><p>"No, my gut's tellin' me that these are bona fide military rather than civilians," said Jake, determinedly shaking his head. "What about the tire tracks?" Ezekiel's fingers flew over the keyboard to bring up another database, this one dedicated solely to tire tread impressions.</p><p>"Goodyear Wrangler Maximum Traction, reinforced with kevlar," he reported. "Designed specifically for light trucks and sport-utility vehicles. Again, they're used by the military, but civilians who take their off-raiding seriously use them, as well. Anyone can buy them." He spun around in his chair to face the others, his dark eyes uncharacteristically serious.</p><p>"I hate to say it, but I think Jake is right," said Cassandra. "I think it might be DOSA; after all, who else knows about us?"</p><p>"Could be the Serpent Brotherhood," mused Jake. "They're still around, you know. Maybe they're still holdin' a grudge over Jenkins takin' out Dulaque..."</p><p>"Yeah, well, it <em>could</em> be anybody! Thanks to your team building camp reporter girlfriend and that Wiki-leaks info dump, <em>everybody</em> in the bloody world knows about the Library, now, and everyone in it!" sneered Ezekiel. Jake turned to angrily face the younger man.</p><p>"Never gonna let that go, are ya, Jones?!" he complained.</p><p>"No, I'm <em>not</em> gonna let that go, mate, not <em>ever</em>!" the thief shot back. "If you woulda kept your mouth shut about the Library—<em>like you're supposed to</em>—word never would've gotten out, and then DOSA, or the Men in Black, or the Serpent Brotherhood, or whoever they are, wouldn't have Jenkins now!"</p><p>"<em>Dammit</em>, Jones, I'm gonna…!" Jake's threat was cut short by the angry voice of Cassandra.</p><p>"Stop it!" she cried, near to tears. "Just <em>stop</em> it! Can we just focus on finding Jenkins? You can fight about whose fault it is that he got kidnapped later!" Chagrined, Jake and Ezekiel exchanged guilty glances and ceased their quarreling.</p><p>"Sorry, Cass," mumbled Jake.</p><p>"Yeah, sorry," echoed Ezekiel. He reached out and took her hand to give it a quick squeeze. "Don't worry, we'll find him. Just a matter of time!" Another smirk came to his lips as he tried to cheer Cassandra up.</p><p>"In fact, knowing Jenkins, if we wait long enough the kidnappers'll probably bring him back soon on their own, just to be rid of that cranky old goat!" The thief's plan backfired, though, and Cassandra burst into a brief flurry of tears. Jake rushed over to put his arm around her shoulders as he shot Ezekiel an accusatory glare.</p><p>"Nice goin', Jones!" he hissed, then he turned to Cassandra.</p><p>"Don't fret, Cassie, we'll find 'im," he said. "Like Jones said, it's just a matter of time, that's all."</p><p>"Right, just a matter of time," Ezekiel repeated. "If it <em>is</em> a kidnapping, we can expect a ransom demand soon; they usually come in the first twenty-four hours."</p><p>"What if we don't hear anything?" asked Jake. Ezekiel shook his head.</p><p>"Then it's safe to say that this isn't <em>just</em> a kidnapping," he answered evasively, casting a sideways glance at Cassandra.</p><p>"If it's not a kidnapping, then what else could it be?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly despite her best effort to remain calm. Ezekiel took a deep breath.</p><p>"I don't know," he finally answered weakly, hoping that she couldn't tell that he was lying.</p><hr/><p>A little over eight hours later, Eve Baird's eyes fluttered open. Disoriented, she moved her head to look around, confused at first to find herself surrounded by what looked like a small, old-fashioned hospital room. Memories then flooded back to her: A sudden pressure against the back of her head; the hard frozen ground under her knees; the sounds of a struggle behind her; Jenkin's voice, demanding someone to let go of him.</p><p><em>Jenkins</em>!</p><p>Eve slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position groaning softly at the stiffness in her muscles and joints. She felt groggy and dull, like she'd been asleep for too long. A second look around the room told her that she was in the Library's infirmary. She ran her hands over her face; her nose felt a little sore, but nothing she couldn't live with. As she looked around, she remembered that someone had attacked Jenkins, attacked her—and she had somehow ended up in the infirmary.</p><p>Eve swung her legs carefully over the edge of the exam table and the blanket she'd been covered with fell to the floor in a heap. She was fully-clothed—the same clothes she had been wearing when they were attacked—except for her boots; those were standing neatly next to the table, as if waiting for her. She sat on the edge of the exam table and rubbed her eyes and forehead with the heels of her hands. She moaned at the dull ache she felt the second she applied pressure, and lowered her hands from her face.</p><p>She slid off of the table and went to look at herself in the mirrored door of an antique medicine cabinet on the far wall. She gasped when she saw the half-healed bruise that was spread across her face, from one slightly puffy eye to the other. Her nose was also slightly swollen and bruised. She touched it gingerly; it hurt if she applied <em>too</em> much pressure, but it was fine otherwise. The same held true for her eyes. Her nose had been broken, and, puzzled, she wondered how it had happened. A memory flashed before her eyes—someone struck her. Someone wearing all black. Outside the Annex, just as she and Jenkins were going on a donut run…</p><p>"Jenkins!" she gasped, whirling around. At the sudden movement, the room spun for a moment, then leveled out. As soon as the dizziness left her, the Guardian quickly moved around the infirmary in search of the immortal, but he was nowhere to be found.</p><p>She went back to the exam table and grabbed her boots. As she pulled them on, more memories of what had happened began bursting to the forefront of her memory. Heavy, running footsteps across the frosty ground behind her, a startled gasp from Jenkins, then his loud protests and the sounds of a scuffle. Her bare fist striking something hard in front of her as she lashed out at a moving shadow in the pre-dawn darkness. A figure in black punching her in the face. The blinding pain, the feel of the cold ground on her skin as she fell. Then...nothing. A terrible feeling welled up in her gut as she rushed out into the corridor and ran stiffly toward the Annex.</p><p><em>Please let Jenkins be in the workroom! Please let Jenkins be in the workroom!</em> she silently pleaded as she ran.</p><hr/><p>Eve burst into the large room and immediately two male heads turned up to stare at her.</p><p>"Eve!" Jake called loudly. He jumped up from his chair and ran over to her. "You're awake! How do you feel?"</p><p>"Like a truck ran over my head," she replied shortly, grimacing as she quickly scanned the room. "Where's Jenkins?" She caught Jake and Ezekiel trading anxious glances.</p><p>"Maybe you should go back to infirmary and get some rest," Stone urged her, a worried expression on his tired-looking face. The Guardian instantly knew that something was up, something Stone wanted to hide from her.</p><p>"Where's Jenkins!?" she repeated, her voice making it clear that it was a demand, not a request. Jake looked over and Ezekiel, then back to Eve and threw his hands into the air, helpless.</p><p>"We're not sure yet," Stone answered quickly, secretly relieved to turn things over to the Guardian. "We think he's been kidnapped, but it's been almost twelve hours now since we found you layin' on the ground outside this mornin', and we still haven't heard anything from the kidnappers regarding a ransom demand."</p><p>"Oh, no!" Eve groaned and went to the nearest chair to drop heavily onto its seat. She then realized that someone else was missing and bolted upright in the chair. "Wait—where's Cassandra?!"</p><p>"It's okay, she's in their room," Ezekiel assured her. "She said she wanted to be alone for a little bit. I think she's having some trouble processing everything." Eve's shoulders slumped.</p><p>"Oh! Poor Cass!" she said quietly. "They just went through all that hell with that damned Heart Stone, and now <em>this</em>! I need to go talk to her." She stood up to go to her friend, but Jake placed his hand on her arm to stop her.</p><p>"I think we need to talk to you first, Baird, about what happened this morning," he said urgently. "We've come up with some theories, but we wanted to hear what you remember first before we made any decisions on what to do." Eve sat down in the chair again, nodding in agreement. She must've really taken a blow to the head to completely forget about something like having a debriefing on what had happened to her and Jenkins this morning. <em>Come on Guardian, get with the program!</em> She scolded herself.</p><p>"I don't remember much, just bits and pieces," she said her brow wrinkling as she frowned. "It all happened so fast..." Jake pulled up a chair and sat down in front of her. Ezekiel pulled up a chair of his own and sat next to Jake.</p><p>"Baird, we have a hunch that DOSA is behind this," the historian said, with characteristic bluntness. "We saw the whole thing on the security cameras. It looked exactly like a military operation. Jones found shoe and tire tracks that he can prove come from boots and vehicles used by the military"</p><p>"But it can't be DOSA," the Guardian immediately protested. "We have an agreement with General Rockwell…"</p><p>"I know," Stone interrupted. "But look at the security video first and then tell me what <em>you</em> think." He signaled for Jones to bring up the footage of the abduction so that Baird could see it. She watched in silence, her face registering growing dismay as the kidnapping unfolded. When it was over, she began shaking her head in denial.</p><p>"This doesn't prove it was DOSA!" she declared, refusing to believe her eyes. "That could be <em>any</em> agency at work, <em>any</em> government! It could even be goons from some secret society that we haven't heard of yet! I <em>know</em> Cynthia Rockwell, and she would <em>never</em> break her word to us—I refuse to believe that!"</p><p>"Eve, I understand," Jake said calmly. "I don't want to believe it, either. And I think you bring up a good point, too: This could be something carried out by a foreign government or a terrorist organization or—some new group we don't know anything about. They could be hired guns, workin' for a private citizen or corporation; we just don't know yet. That's why I wanted you to look at the video; maybe you could see something as former military that we're missin'."</p><p>Eve took a deep breath and forced herself to think calmly and with detachment. Jake was right—this could've been done by anyone, <em>maybe</em> even DOSA. If they were going to find Jenkins and rescue him, she needed to start thinking like Jenkins's Guardian now, not as just his friend. Baird nodded curtly at Ezekiel to replay the video, and she watched the action more closely this time, paying especial attention to the movements of the men. She grunted softly and began nodding when the video showed her throwing a punch at her attacker.</p><p>"There," she said, pointing to the screen. "I <em>know</em> I aimed for his head, and I remember hitting something hard and thinking, 'that's a helmet'. Definitely military-issue, not a bike helmet or something like that. They were all in nighttime ops gear, uniforms; I think I even saw night vision goggles on one of them. Definitely not stuff they just threw on at home. And they were fast, coordinated, like they've practiced it a hundred times; the whole thing was over in only a couple of minutes." Eve continued to watch in silence, then reached out to tap the monitor again.</p><p>"I'd say it was definitely a military operation, except for this last part." She pointed at the image of the black-clad figure that was about to cut her throat.</p><p>"That's definitely <em>not</em> standard military protocol," she said coldly. "I was down, I was out, I was no longer a threat. He <em>should've</em> just walked away, not wasted time with killing me." She paused for a minute, considering. "Unless…"</p><p>"Unless, what?" prompted Jake. Eve gave him a hard look.</p><p>"Unless this was supposed to be some kind of an S &amp; D mission—search and destroy." The men exchanged uneasy glances.</p><p>"I thought that kind of stuff went out with the Vietnam War?" said Stone. Eve nodded.</p><p>"On the record, it did," she said crisply. "Off the record, though, it's still in use, both with our military and foreign ones, though in a very limited capacity and under strict oversight from the various military commands. But I seriously can't believe that DOSA would stoop to that. If they wanted something from us, all they would have to do is <em>ask</em>."</p><p>"Yeah, well, if you ask me, somethin' is definitely rotten in Denmark," Jake muttered as he stood up and started to pace. He made a couple of passes in silence, then stopped suddenly.</p><p>"Whoever's behind this—why would they want Jenkins alive, but Baird dead?" he asked, the answer tantalizingly close, but just outside his grasp.</p><p>"Because she's a threat," said Ezekiel. Eve and Jake turned to look at him.</p><p>"What do you mean?" Baird asked, her eyes encouraging him to continue. The young Librarian took a silent breath.</p><p>"You're our Guardian; you're Jenkins's Guardian. You're their prime, number one threat," he continued, his voice low and tense. "They knew that. They knew that if they took Jenkins, you would come after them, so they had to take you out of the picture—permanently. To keep you from interfering with whatever plans they have for Jenkins."</p><p>Eve sat back in her chair, her chest going numb as she realized that Ezekiel was right. Her mind raced; DOSA had very keen to get their hands on Jenkins years ago when they invaded the Library. If it really was DOSA that was behind this...why would they suddenly come back now and try to take him again? The kidnappers didn't even try to enter the Annex, even though Jenkins had the key to the front door right there in the lock! What would they want with <em>Jenkins</em>—but not her, or any of the Librarians or even the Library itself? Eve bolted upright in her chair and looked at the two worried Librarians.</p><p>"What we need right now is some solid information," she said, calm and thoughtful. "I still have a contact number for Rockwell. If they aren't involved, maybe they can help us. And if DOSA <em>is</em> involved, we might as well nail them on it right now before it goes any further." Eve stood up and nodded satisfied with this course of action. She began walking toward the corridor.</p><p>"You guys stay by the phone, just in case they call us," she called out to them. "I'm gonna go check on Cass before I do anything else."</p><hr/><p>Baird found Cassandra in the suite she shared with Jenkins. The Librarian had opened the door and stared at the taller woman in shock, surprised to see her up and walking around so soon. She quickly recovered, though, and threw her arms around Eve.</p><p>"Eve!" Cassandra cried as she fought to keep from bursting into tears. "I'm so happy to see you! Are you all right? How do you feel?"</p><p>"I feel fine," Baird lied, smiling. "A little stiff and sore in some spots, but nothing I can't handle." She stood back and looked her friend in the eye. "What about you, Red? I just talked to the boys about what happened with Jenkins—how are <em>you</em> doing?"</p><p>Cassandra took a deep breath, forcing a smile of her own. "Oh, I'm okay, under the circumstances, I guess," she said, trying to sound brave, but failing miserably. Eve stepped into the bedroom and closed the door behind her, then turned to face the young woman.</p><p>"Cass, it's okay to be upset," she said gently. "You don't have to pretend. I know you're scared and worried about Jenkins. We're all scared and worried about him." Cassandra dropped her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself.</p><p>"I know," she said, her voice quavering a bit. "But Jenkins wouldn't want me to be scared or hysterical or to fall apart or anything like that. He'd want me to be brave, he'd want me to be strong…" She lowered her head so that her friend wouldn't see how upset she truly was, roughly brushing away a tear that slipped from one eye. Eve's shoulders dropped and she laid one hand against the side of the younger woman's face.</p><p>"Aww, Cassandra, sweetie!" she said, her voice full of sympathy. "No, he wouldn't! Especially not after what he went through the time <em>you</em> were kidnapped! Not after what the two of you just went through on the Titanic!" She ducked her head down so that she could peer up into the distraught Librarian's face.</p><p>"In fact, I can promise you, Cass, that if he was here right now, he'd be the first one to tell you that it's okay to cry if you want to." Eve pulled herself up as straight and as tall as she could. Her face took on an exaggerated scowl as she glared down at Cassandra.</p><p>"In fact, young woman," Eve said, pitching her voice low as she tried to imitate Jenkins's voice and cadence. "Tears serve a necessary biological function in that they allow the body to rid itself of the various toxins that accumulate in one's system!"</p><p>Cassandra glanced up at Baird. As soon as their eyes met, she lost all composure and fell into the Guardian's arms, sobbing as though her heart was about to break at any second.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Plot Thickens</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After a cold, uncomfortable ride that seemed to last forever, the vehicle finally stopped. Immediately, the rear doors were opened, allowing a blast of fresh, frosty air to enter. Several of his captors roughly grabbed his aching limbs and hauled Jenkins up, then dragged him out of the van. The immortal thought he could detect the smell of salt in the air through the hood still covering his head. They lifted him up and unceremoniously dropped him face-down onto a barely-padded, table-like surface. He felt straps cross over his body and heard the thin clink of metal buckles before the straps tightened snugly against him. He felt himself begin to move again, and Jenkins surmised that he was now on gurney of some type, and that his captors had brought him somewhere near the sea. He didn't bother to speak or to struggle; his numb hands and feet were still too tightly bound, the plastic zip-ties biting sharply into his skin.</p>
<p>After several minutes he heard the low distinctive sound of an elevator bell, then the quiet <em>swoosh</em> of doors opening. He heard them close again after they pushed him into the car, felt them descend. A few more minutes passed in silence before the elevator car halted with a small jerk and the doors opened again.</p>
<p>The men wheeled Jenkins through what sounded like a large empty room, judging from the echoing of their heavy boots. Through the dark hood he could now smell a faint odor that was somehow vaguely familiar to him, but he had trouble placing it.</p>
<p>After a long trip on the gurney, they stopped suddenly. Jenkins heard another door open, this one hissing as though it was under some kind of a vacuum seal. His heart suddenly began to beat hard within his chest as he realized that he knew that sound. Pieces of the puzzle began to drift slowly into place: The location by the sea, the smell of the room he had just come through, the sound of the hissing door as it opened. He <em>knew</em> this place, but he struggled to remember the circumstances.</p>
<p>The men picked him up and carried him a short distance, then stood him upright. They picked him up again and moved him a few more feet forward before dropping him to the floor. Then, without removing the hood, they pressed his face roughly against a solid surface, presumably a wall. He felt something cold, hard and small pushed painfully against the back of his head.</p>
<p>"Keep still or I'll blow your head off!" a gruff voice ordered curtly. Jenkins kept quiet and held still as he felt the tie binding his legs being cut loose. A moment later he felt the bonds on his hands also being cut off; his numbed hands and feet began to tingle as blood rushed into them. Instantly the gun was removed from his head. He heard the door slam shut and seal with a whispered hiss behind him.</p>
<p>His arms were stiff and sore as he brought them forward and up slowly; his partially-numb hands clumsily pulled the hood from his head. He blinked for a moment against the harsh fluorescent lighting overhead. As soon as his eyes adjusted, he turned on painfully tingling feet to look around, taking in the tall, narrow box that was about the size of an old-fashioned telephone booth—except <em>this</em> booth was constructed of titanium, with round windows made of inches-thick polycarbonate bulletproof glass. His racing heart nearly stopped dead in his chest as he now remembered his new surroundings: He was locked once again into the so-called "Librarian-proof" box that DOSA had held him captive in when they took him from the Library over two years ago.</p>
<p>Jenkins threw himself against the door of the box to peer out of the round window. All he could see were the rapidly retreating backs of the soldiers who had captured him, and, all around him, the empty, sterile display cases that had once contained the looted treasures of the Library.</p>
<hr/>
<p>As it turned out, Eve didn't need to try and find General Cynthia Rockwell; the general found her. Rockwell contacted Eve by phone while she had been comforting Cassandra, leaving the Guardian a text that contained only a phone number. Eve called the number and started to bombard the older woman with questions the second she answered the phone, but the general said nothing except to insist on meeting in person. Rockwell stubbornly refused to answer any of Eve's questions until they were face to face, saying only that she had information that the Guardian needed to know. Convinced that Rockwell was talking about what had happened to Jenkins, Eve readily agreed to meet with the general early the next morning, the soonest Rockwell could get into Portland. Jake and Ezekiel had wanted to come with her, just in case it was another DOSA trap, but she sternly ordered them to stay in the Annex. She knew Rockwell, she insisted; this wasn't a trap, it was a parlay. Rockwell wanted only to talk.</p>
<p>Baird now checked her watch impatiently as she sat in the booth of the small diner that was located a few miles away from Portland International Airport, a large black coffee steaming on the table in front of her. It was eight o'clock in the morning of the day after Jenkins had been taken.</p>
<p>The rest of the previous day had passed with the team anxiously waiting to hear from the kidnappers, but no ransom demands were received, every passing second confirming for Eve that this was, indeed, not a run of the mill kidnapping. Everyone was on edge now, especially Cassandra. Eve began to get a very uneasy feeling in her gut that something very bad was about to happen. She hoped that she could get some answers from Rockwell. If not, they were right back at square one.</p>
<p>The small bell over the door of the diner jingled, and Eve looked up just in time to see General Cynthia Rockwell enter. The tall, smartly-dressed brown-skinned woman quickly scanned the shop with piercing green eyes. As soon as she spotted Eve, she made a beeline for her booth, pausing only long enough to order a black coffee for herself from the waitress behind the counter. She gave Eve a small wry smile as she tossed her expensive designer purse into the opposite side booth from Baird and slid onto the seat after it.</p>
<p>"Well, Eve," she greeted briskly, her voice somehow melodious and hard-edged at the same time. "It's been a while. How are you these days?"</p>
<p>"That all depends on what you have to say," answered Baird stiffly. "Hopefully you can tell me something that will considerably brighten my day?" Rockwell sat back in her seat and frowned as she gazed steadily at the blonde woman. She noted the tired blue eyes and the pale, worn face.</p>
<p>"Somethings' wrong," she said, musing aloud. "What's happened?" Eve waited until the approaching waitress set down a mug of coffee in front of Rockwell and left. She leaned in and stared directly into her former commander's eyes.</p>
<p>"One of my people was taken yesterday morning—abducted, and they nearly took my own head off at the same time. A professional military job. And I want to know if DOSA is responsible for it." She fell silent and waited for an answer. Rockwell regarded her with narrowed eyes for a moment. Eve noted the lack of surprise from the older woman at the news.</p>
<p>"Who was taken?" Rockwell asked, voice low so that she couldn't be overheard.</p>
<p>"Jenkins." Baird watched carefully for the other woman's reaction, but all she did was to continue coolly gazing at the Guardian for a moment before she finally dropped her eyes.</p>
<p>"Ah. Yes, the ornery one," she said. A faint smile played on her lips as she remembered the tall, dapperly-dressed old man, unflinchingly staring down a dozen heavily-armed soldiers while he himself carried only an old-fashioned rapier. Not even a shield, just the sword. Rockwell didn't know anything about him at the time except for what was in his dossier, but she had to admit that she'd been impressed at that moment; the old man certainly had balls, even if <em>was</em> immortal. Her smile faded.</p>
<p>"So it's already begun. I'm sorry, Eve," she said crisply, looking up again at the woman seated across from her. "I'm afraid that DOSA probably <em>is</em> responsible for taking your friend." Baird narrowed her own eyes in suspicion.</p>
<p>"What do you mean 'probably'?" she asked. Her gut began to churn as that uneasy feeling intensified. She now knew for certain that she wasn't going to like Rockwell's answer.</p>
<p>"I'm not with DOSA anymore," the general answered bluntly, with just a hint of bitterness in her voice. Eve's mouth fell open in astonishment.</p>
<p>"What?!" she exclaimed. She glanced around to make sure no one had heard her outburst, then looked back at Rockwell and lowered her voice. "What happened?"</p>
<p>"After that debacle with the Library, coupled with the fact that I returned all of the artifacts to you without consulting the powers that be first—well, let's just say that the Pentagon was very unhappy with my handling of the situation. They reassigned me." Rockwell shrugged and took a sip of her coffee.</p>
<p>"Tried to stick me in some backwater Middle Eastern post, but I refused it and resigned my commission instead." She paused to take another sip of her coffee, then sighed. "I couldn't convince them that returning the artifacts was the best course of action, or of the fact that the Library was a much more secure facility for such items than the government could ever hope to be. And you have <em>no idea</em> how lucky I was to get the Pentagon to agree to the terms of our mutual assistance agreement. Someone else is in charge at DOSA now."</p>
<p>"Who?" asked Baird, shocked by the news of the general's resignation. Rockwell pressed her lips together and took a calming breath before answering.</p>
<p>"Linsky." Eve's eyes flew open to stare at the former general in disbelief.</p>
<p>"Linsky?!" she yelped, just a little too loudly. She ducked her head and looked around again to make sure no one was looking at them, but no one in the diner seemed to take any notice. She looked back at Rockwell.</p>
<p>"You mean that little mealy-mouthed, stick up his ass, gung-ho butt-kisser? <em>That</em> Linsky?!" Rockwell nodded her head, a look of disgust marring her face.</p>
<p>"Yes, <em>that</em> Linsky," she confirmed. "He was far more willing to mindlessly obey orders, so they promoted him and gave him <em>my</em> job. He's not military, so he's not a general, of course, but I suspect they think that that will only make him more manageable. His new title is 'Director', but he still reports directly to the Pentagon and the Joint Chiefs." She spoke the word "director" as though it was something foul-tasting in her mouth.</p>
<p>"I'm guessing that the Pentagon is interested in undoing as much of the 'damage' I did as possible, trying to salvage <em>something</em> from that Library fiasco," the older woman said as she gazed at Baird thoughtfully. "When we learned about the Library and actually confirmed its existence, we were stunned, as you can well imagine. The artifacts were one thing—but when we learned of the existence of an <em>immortal</em> human being, and that that immortal was once an actual<em> knight of the Round Table</em>…"</p>
<p>"<em>Why</em> do they want him?" Eve demanded, cutting Rockwell off sharply. The general shifted uneasily.</p>
<p>"That's why I contacted you," she answered, her eyes and expression softening, her gaze dropping to focus on Baird's coffee cup. "When they fired me, I thought they were actually going to shut down DOSA. Taking over the Library and taking possession its artifacts had been our number one priority for years, and now that that plan had failed, I didn't think the Congress would give us anymore funding after such a spectacular failure." Rockwell paused and squirmed uncomfortably in her seat, then looked up and into Eve's blue eyes.</p>
<p>"But I was wrong," she continued. "The Library is too rich a prize to simply walk away from."</p>
<p>"What do they want, Cynthia?" pressed Eve anxiously. "Why did they take Jenkins?" Rockwell took a sip of her lukewarm coffee, then met the Guardian's eyes.</p>
<p>"They want his knowledge—all of it. The Pentagon wants him fully debriefed, they want to know <em>everything</em> that he knows: Every single minute of the history he's lived through and witnessed firsthand, and everything about his own life." Rockwell paused for a moment, took a quick breath.</p>
<p>"Second, they want his scientific knowledge. We learned that he has created a stable, controllable Bose-Einstein bridge. That creation alone would give us a <em>tremendous</em> tactical advantage in wartime, especially in terms of troop transportation and supply." Rockwell leaned forward and spoke with urgency. "The Pentagon <em>wants</em> that technology, Eve; they want it <em>badly</em>! And who knows what else Jenkins come up with that we could use? Or, even more importantly, that a hostile government could use <em>against</em> us if they managed to capture Jenkins first? He became red-flag critical after the Wiki-leak dumps." Rockwell sat back in her seat and sighed.</p>
<p>"I guess that based on that, the Pentagon was able to convince Congress that DOSA was still a useful program, if only to capture Jenkins and extract his knowledge." Eve listened to everything, horrified, her hands clutched numbly around her coffee cup.</p>
<p>"Jenkins will <em>never</em> give up that information, not to <em>anyone</em>!" said Eve fervently as she leaned forward. "He knows what a government will do with it, and he won't give it up! He's fought in too many wars, seen and experienced firsthand man's brutality in wartime, he's seen too many things that you and I can't even <em>begin</em> to imagine! He won't do anything to contribute to <em>any</em> nation's military complex. And he has an infinite lifespan, he can totally wait <em>all</em> of us out!" One corner of the general's mouth slid up into a humorless smirk.</p>
<p>"Every soldier has a weakness, Eve, a breaking point-even immortal ones," she replied, almost sadly.</p>
<p>"Not Jenkins, Cynthia, not him, no way!" Rockwell sat up straight in her seat and looked Eve squarely in the eyes.</p>
<p>"What about his fear of rats?" she asked bluntly. Baird gaped at the other woman in surprise.</p>
<p>"How...how do <em>you</em> know about that?" she asked.</p>
<p>"Mr. Stone was very open and candid with Miss Surya," Rockwell replied, referring to the reporter Jacob Stone had met and become infatuated with at the team building camp. "She, in turn, was very open and candid with us when we interviewed her." A sickening feeling filled Baird's chest.</p>
<p>"She was a DOSA agent? A plant?" she asked faintly. Rockwell shook her head.</p>
<p>"No, she wasn't one of us, just a...'happy accident', if you will," she replied. "When Agent Tannen noticed Mr. Stone and Miss Surya spending a lot of time together, he assigned someone to tail them. When her exposé was published, we brought her in for a debriefing of her own. She had no idea who we were, of course, we gave a very convincing cover story, told her we were a magazine interested in doing a full issue on her discovery. She was more than happy to tell us everything."</p>
<p>Eve sat quietly for several moments, her mind reeling, unable to believe what she was hearing. She turned a stony gaze onto Rockwell.</p>
<p>"So you were going to use that knowledge against him? You were going to use his phobia against Jenkins? <em>Torture</em> him with rats until he spilled his guts?" she demanded, her voice beginning to crack with rage. The general shook her head vehemently and held up her hands in denial.</p>
<p>"No!" she said immediately. "I do <em>not</em> condone torture, for any reason!" She gave a soft snort of disgust.</p>
<p>"In fact, that was another reason I was taken out of DOSA," she said sourly. "When I heard what the Pentagon wanted me to do with Jenkins, I just..." She shook her head again and took a deep breath.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry to tell you this, Eve, but I'm afraid that Director Linsky has no such qualms." The horrible feeling in Eve's chest instantly turned to cold, numbing dread.</p>
<p>"What are they going to do to him?" she asked, her voice low and fearful. Rockwell took another deep breath and answered her former protégé honestly and brutally.</p>
<p>"That brings me to the third thing they want: His DNA," she said. "They want to know what exactly makes him immortal." Eve blinked, confused.</p>
<p>"Why?"</p>
<p>"<em>Think</em> about it, Eve: An army of <em>immortals</em>," replied Rockwell, her voice tight as she leaned over the table so as not to be overheard. "Soldiers who <em>can't</em> be killed—it would change the face of warfare as we know it. It would be a bigger innovation than the flintlock gun was, or even the atomic bomb! If we can unlock the secrets of his DNA and find the key to his immortality, we could use that to possibly imbue <em>our own</em> troops with immortality—maybe even 'grow' immortals in a laboratory setting! Our military would be invincible, our country would <em>never</em> have to fear attack from a foreign power ever again—it may even end warfare once and for all throughout the world!" Rockwell leaned back from the table.</p>
<p>"You can just imagine how eager everyone is to secure <em>that</em> kind of an asset!" she finished. Baird stared back, aghast.</p>
<p>"Except he's not just an 'asset', General!" she finally hissed back angrily. "He's a <em>human being</em>, and he's my <em>friend</em>!" She glared at her former commander, barely containing her fury with the woman and her cold, clinical assessment of someone the Guardian loved so very much.</p>
<p>"Jenkins is like a brother to me! He may be over fifteen hundred years old, but he's <em>still</em> a human being—he is loved and cherished! Everyone at the Library is about to go <em>crazy</em> trying to find him, hoping and praying that he's okay! His wife is absolutely <em>sick</em> with worry…!"</p>
<p>"His <em>wife</em>?!" Rockwell gasped, giving Eve a shocked look. "<em>What</em> wife? We had no intelligence on that…!"</p>
<p>"They were married a couple of years ago," said Eve, slumping back in her seat, her head beginning to ache. "He and Cassandra."</p>
<p>"The mathematician?" Rockwell asked, surprised, and Eve nodded. The Guardian leaned forward again and looked at the other woman with intensity.</p>
<p>"So, what's the plan, then?" she asked, her gut beginning to twist with foreboding again. "Use rats to scare the information you want out of him, then take his DNA? They just take some samples, right? Blood, skin, hair, that kind of thing, right? And then they'll let him go?" Despite her hopefulness, Eve already knew that once the government had a prize like an immortal, they would <em>never</em> let him go free again.</p>
<p>"No, Eve," Rockwell said quietly as she shook her head, unable to look her friend in the eye. Baird waited for her to continue, but after several long seconds, she pushed for an answer.</p>
<p>"What are they going to do, Cynthia?" she demanded, her voice hard. Finally, Rockwell looked up, her face hard.</p>
<p>"When they're satisfied that they have all of the scientific and historical information from him and all of the DNA samples they need, they'll want to know…what makes him tick, so to speak. Physically. As it relates to his immortality." Confused, Eve gave her a small shake of the head to indicate that she didn't understand what Rockwell was saying. The older woman squared her shoulders and laid all of the cards on the table.</p>
<p>They'll want to…experiment with him," she said hesitantly. "They'll…intentionally inflict various injuries. They might break a leg or an arm, for example, then study how he recovers—the progression of it—try to figure out how the mechanisms that relate to healing work…"</p>
<p>"He may be immortal, Cynthia, but Jenkins can still feel pain!" protested Eve, aghast. "He can still <em>suffer</em>!" Rockwell dropped her eyes.</p>
<p>"I know that," she murmured. She raised her bright green eyes again and drew a sharp breath.</p>
<p>"You may as well know everything," she continued remorselessly. "At some point they'll also…" She swallowed, hard.</p>
<p>"They'll cut him open, Eve. I'm...I'm sorry."</p>
<p>Eve's mouth hung open, stunned, and she fell back against her seat as she realized what Rockwell was saying. She gaped at her for a few seconds, her body numb.</p>
<p>"But… You can't dissect him! Jenkins can't be killed!" she gasped, then leaned forward again. "You don't understand, Cynthia—<em>he can't be killed</em>! It's physically impossible! They can try, but it won't work on him! Dissection? No, no, no!" She waved her hands in front of her for emphasis. "Not gonna happen!"</p>
<p>Rockwell stared back at Eve, her face like stone. Baird <em>still</em> hadn't understood her.</p>
<p>"They know that," she said, barely audible, her eyes suddenly bleak. "It wouldn't be a <em>dissection</em>." Baird met her gaze with confusion.</p>
<p>"What, then? What else <em>is</em> there?"</p>
<p>"Vivisection."</p>
<p>Eve felt her blood run cold at the awful word and the image it conjured up in her mind: Jenkins, strapped down on a table and helpless, while government scientists—no, scratch that—while government <em>butchers</em> cut him open, the immortal still living, still able to feel pain...</p>
<p>"No!" she rasped, unable to believe she was actually having this conversation. "You can't do it! You just <em>can't</em>!"</p>
<p>"It's not <em>me</em> anymore, Eve," Rockwell said emotionlessly. "It's Linsky's watch now."</p>
<p>"But it was on <em>your</em> watch when these plans were made!" spat the Guardian, tears coming to her blue eyes. "If you'd been able to defeat the Library two years ago, <em>you</em> would've been the one carrying those plans out!" Baird stared at the older woman now with pure hatred.</p>
<p>"What were your plans for the rest of us, huh?" she demanded. "Were you gonna cut <em>us</em> up alive, too?" It was all Eve could do not to throw the remainder of her coffee into Rockwell's face before punching her lights out. Eve felt sick with the knowledge of what DOSA had in store for Jenkins. <em>How</em> was she going to tell the others about this? Jacob will blame himself, he had been the one to bring that woman into the Library, told her everything, told her Jenkins's one known weakness. And how in God's name was she going to explain all of this to Cassandra?</p>
<p>"Eve, I'm sorry…" Rockwell began to say, but Eve cut her off.</p>
<p>"Save it!" she snapped, and began gathering up her things to leave. She suddenly wanted to get as far away from Cynthia Rockwell as possible, as fast as possible. Rockwell's hand shot forward to grab Eve's wrist.</p>
<p>"Eve, you <em>have</em> to believe me—I had no knowledge of any of this!" she said, staring up into Eve's eyes. "The plans were made at the Pentagon! The plans were shared only on a need to know basis, and the Pentagon determined that <em>I</em> didn't need to know them! I was ordered only to capture the Library and seize the artifacts, nothing more! If I had known…" She dropped her gaze and let go of Eve's arm.</p>
<p>"If I had known about what they wanted to do with Jenkins, I would've resigned right then and there," she finished somberly. "I know I can be tough, Eve, and I know there have been plenty of times when I've flirted with crossing certain moral lines in my career, but I am <em>not</em> a monster! That's one of the reasons why I reached out to you in the first place. I still have connections inside of DOSA; when these new orders came down, they contacted me. I knew that DOSA was going move on those orders eventually, but I didn't expect it to be <em>this</em> soon."</p>
<p>Baird glared down into Rockwell's unblinking green eyes. She hated Rockwell with every fiber of her being right now. She was sick with fear and concern for Jenkins, for Cassandra, for Jake and Ezekiel. She wanted only to get away from this soulless woman in front of, to go back to the Annex and make a plan to find and rescue Jenkins.</p>
<p>Suddenly, it occurred to the Guardian that without intelligence, she could make no plans. Eve forced herself to calm down and think rationally, like a soldier. Tight now, only Rockwell had the information Eve so desperately needed. She slowly sat down again.</p>
<p>"Where did they take him? Where's he being held?" The general took a soft breath and sighed; all of a sudden, she looked exhausted.</p>
<p>"My guess is that they took him to the same underground storage facility where we took the artifacts after we invaded the Library," she said, settling back into her seat. "I have no idea how long they'll keep him there, though—when I left, there were plans to use that facility for other things, so his stay there will be temporary. Eventually, he'll be sent to a more remote, more secure facility, perhaps even Area 51." She leaned forward and looked at Baird.</p>
<p>"If you plan on getting him out, Eve, you'll need to do it sooner rather than later, before he's transferred. I can make some calls; I still have friends in the Pentagon, I can see if I can find out what's happening with Jenkins and if there's a timeline established yet." Rockwell reached across the table and laid a hand on top of Eve's. It was all the Guardian could do not to snatch her hand away.</p>
<p>"I <em>am</em> sorry, Eve, you have to believe me," she said urgently. "Perhaps I've been in the military too long; I tend to see people and things now as 'assets', situations as 'missions' to be completed, aborted or disrupted as the case may be. It's a sad truth that soldiers, especially those in command positions, can't really afford the luxury of sympathy or empathy. Sometimes I forget that there are <em>people</em> involved and that not everyone thinks like a soldier." She paused, dropping her gaze for a second before glancing up again. Eve couldn't help but remember a similar exchange with Cassandra early on in their careers together, when they were up against the Minotaur.</p>
<p>
  <em>It's not a suggestion, it's an order!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And I'm NOT a soldier!</em>
</p>
<p>"I don't want your friend to come to any harm," Rockwell continued, pulling Eve back to the present. "If I had known at the time I was placed in charge of DOSA all of the things I know now about the Library and the Librarians, things would've been handled <em>very</em> differently, I <em>promise</em> you that." She squeezed Baird's hand gently.</p>
<p>"Please—tell Cassandra that I'm sorry. Tell her that I'll do everything I can to help get her husband back safely," she said, green eyes flashing with determination. "He may be ornery, but in the short time I was able to spend with him after Apep was defeated, I could tell that he's also a good man, an honorable man." She let go a Baird's hand and sat up straight in her seat.</p>
<p>"And maybe the most important fact here is that he's also a brother soldier, even if it's been…<em>hundreds</em> of years since he last saw any action," she said, giving her head a tiny shake of wonder at the words. "He deserves much better than this. I hope you can get to him in time." Eve relaxed a little at the ex-general's words. She reached out and squeezed Rockwell's hand back as a small, grim smile came to her lips.</p>
<p>"Oh, make no mistake, General," she said, her voice like a razor. "We <em>will</em> get him back."</p>
<hr/>
<p>Eve called a meeting the minute she returned to the Library. She related her conversation with General Rockwell, telling them everything. The boys were frozen, staring at her with shaken faces as she relayed why Jenkins was taken and what DOSA's last known plans were for him. As she had expected, Jake took the news hard, instantly blaming himself for the predicament Jenkins now found himself in. Cassandra listened silently, her face white as chalk. By the end of the Guardian's briefing, the young Librarian was trembling and looked as though she was going to be sick.</p>
<p>Before the meeting was officially over, Jake jumped up from the table and angrily stormed off, Ezekiel trailing after him and trying to reassure the older man. He caught up to him in the corridor and grabbed Jake's to jerk him back and around to face him.</p>
<p>"Let go, Jones!" Stone barked, pulling his arm out of the thief's hand. "Just…leave me alone!" He turned and started to walk away again; Ezekiel grabbed him a second time and spun him around.</p>
<p>"We don't have time for this!" he said impatiently. Jake stared back, speechless, for a moment.</p>
<p>"We don't have time for what?" he demanded, just as impatiently.</p>
<p>Look," huffed Jones, running his hand over his head, "I know you blame yourself for what's happened, but you have to pull yourself together, right now, and get back in there so we can start talking about how we're going to rescue Jenkins!"</p>
<p>"So you expect me to just forget that the only reason DOSA was able to capture Jenkins in the first place was 'cause I blabbed everything to Surya? Really?" Jake scoffed, and shook his head. "Man, I don't <em>believe</em> you…"</p>
<p>"You know what <em>I</em> don't believe?" yelled Jones, his temper finally flaring. "I don't believe <em>you</em>, mate!" He rushed at Jake and jammed the finger of his right hand into the Librarian's chest.</p>
<p>"I can't believe that you are <em>so</em> selfish and <em>so</em> self-absorbed that you're wasting time out here beating yourself up instead of being in there and helping the rest of us come up with a plan!" he continued, pointing back down the corridor towards the workroom.</p>
<p>"You just don't get it, Jones…" Jake started to say, but Ezekiel didn't let him finish.</p>
<p>"Oh, I get it, man—I <em>so</em> get it!" he answered testily, glaring at Stone with angry black eyes. "I get it that Jenkins in a <em>ton</em> of trouble right now, and I get it that Cassandra is about to lose her mind right now because Jenkins <em>is</em> in a ton of trouble, and I get it that Baird needs us <em>both</em> to have our heads screwed on straight right now, 'cause she's gonna need our help if we have even a <em>prayer</em> of getting Jenkins back in one piece!" The young Australian took another step towards Jake, his expression softening a bit, his voice taking on a tone of entreaty.</p>
<p>"Look, I know what Jenkins means to you," he said. "He's like…the closest thing to a real dad that you've ever had." Jones moved in another step. "And I know you feel like crap right now 'cause you think this is your fault, but—Jenkins <em>needs</em> you. He's depending on you to take care of Cass and make sure she's all right while he's gone. He's depending on you to help Baird keep the Library safe. Right now, he's depending on you to be a <em>Librarian</em>." Jake dropped his eyes and his shoulders dropped, Ezekiel's words taking all of the anger, frustration and self-recrimination out of him. He looked up at the thief again and exhaled a deep lungful of air.</p>
<p>"You're right," he grumbled, surrendering. Ezekiel smiled and reached out to lightly punch the older man in the shoulder.</p>
<p>"Hey, if it'll you makes you feel any better? After we get Jenkins back and everything gets back to normal around here, I'll be more than happy to kick your dumb cowboy ass for you!" Jake narrowed his eyes while one corner of his mouth pulled up in a sneer.</p>
<p>"Yeah, you and what army?" he growled. Ezekiel reached to punch his shoulder again, slightly harder this time.</p>
<p>"No army needed, mate," he answered lightly. "Just me and my mad kumite skills!" Jake rolled his eyes as he began to push his way past the thief.</p>
<p>"Kumite—yeah, right!" he said dismissively and began heading back to the workroom. "You probably can't even spell 'kumite'!"</p>
<p>Ezekiel shrugged and smiled to himself, then hurried after the historian.</p>
<hr/>
<p>As the boys left the room, Eve went to Cassandra and put a hand on her shoulder.</p>
<p>"It's going to be okay, Cassandra; I promise you, we're going to get him back before anything bad happens to him!" she said, trying to encourage the unhappy young woman. Cassandra nodded and smiled weakly.</p>
<p>"I know," she answered, her voice small. "I'm just worried about Jenkins. I just hope he's okay right <em>now</em>, that they aren't…" Her voice cracked and she couldn't get the rest of the words out. Eve wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly.</p>
<p>Jacob and Ezekiel were suddenly appeared beside them; Ezekiel had reminded him of Cassandra and what she was going through right now. The historian had double-backed to the workroom, Ezekiel on his heels. He reached out to grasp Cassandra's forearm.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry, Cass; this is all my fault, and I'm just...I'm so sorry!" he growled, his blue eyes hard. "I'm gonna make this right, though, I swear! I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get him back!" Ezekiel stepped up and gave her shoulder a gentle rub.</p>
<p>"Yeah, in fact, if you should be worried about anyone, it should be DOSA, 'cause they have no idea what they've got locked up in that warehouse!" he said lightly, giving Cassandra a roguish wink. "I'd hate to be <em>any</em> of those blokes standing between Jenkins and his cute little Librarian!" Cassandra couldn't help but smile, because she knew Ezekiel was right; Jenkins would stop at nothing to get back to her. She let go of Eve and spread her arms to take in all three for a tight group hug. After a few minutes of shared sniffles and tears, the tiny group broke apart.</p>
<p>"Okay—Librarians!" said Eve, and began to shepherd everyone over to the long worktable in the center of the room. "The enemy is well-armed, well-supplied, military-trained, entrenched in superior numbers, and they have a hostage. Time is against us, unfortunately, but we have an ally in General Rockwell. We still need a plan, though, so let's put our heads together and get to work!"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The Interrogation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jenkins started to full wakefulness as the door to his cell was pulled open. He'd spent the last twenty-four hours straight confined and isolated in the hateful box. After locking him inside, his captors had left him completely alone; no one brought food or water—not that he needed either, of course, but still… No one came to check his injuries; no one come to see if he was even alive or dead.</p>
<p>He spent the first few hours raging and fuming; once his anger was spent, he began to fret. He worried about the others, especially Eve. He hoped and prayed that the Guardian was all right. Even though she was immortal herself now, and therefore couldn't be killed, she <em>could</em> still be injured, and he thought he'd heard her fighting with someone as his captors carried him to their vehicle. His thoughts then inevitably turned to Cassandra. She must beside herself with worry about him by now.</p>
<p>He looked up from the floor of the box where he had spent the night wrestling with his thoughts and worries, sitting upright in the cramped space and slumped against one wall, his long legs bent at an awkward angle because there wasn't room enough for him to stretch them out. He had removed his tie and suit coat, using the latter as a makeshift pillow for his head. He was now greeted with the sight of an armored and well-armed soldier standing just outside of the door, staring blandly at him. Jenkins immediately saw the abbreviation "DOSA" stenciled across the man's black helmet, and his heart sank.</p>
<p>"Get up!" the soldier barked. Jenkins replaced his head against the wall and closed his eyes.</p>
<p>"No." He heard the sound of rapid footsteps and multiple weapons being raised and pointed at him; he counted at least four.</p>
<p>"<em>Get up</em>!" the soldier shouted this time. Jenkins thought he detected the slightest hint of fear in the man's voice. He raised his head and opened his eyes, looked at the soldier with an experienced eye. This one was in his late twenties, Jenkins guessed. Been in the military for a few years, but hasn't seen actual combat yet. That told him that not all DOSA personnel were battle-hardened veterans, information that he could perhaps use to his advantage later.</p>
<p>"Why?" he asked lackadaisically. The young soldier stepped back and waved at his companions.</p>
<p>"Get him out!" he ordered. Instantly, two large men leaned inside, grabbed the surly Caretaker by his arms and roughly hauled him out of the box. His back and legs, stiff from spending so many hours in the same cramped position, ached painfully as he was suddenly jerked upright and out into the cavernous room where the box was located. Jenkins gasped and muttered under his breath as he forced his body to straighten to his full height.</p>
<p>"Put your hands out!" the first soldier ordered, his weapon trained on the difficult old man. Jenkins only glared at him. The soldier nodded, and the other two soldiers forced Jenkins's arms out in front of him, while a fourth soldier helped to cover him with another assault rifle. Two more soldiers stepped forward and quickly placed steel shackles on his wrists and ankles, similar to the kind used in prisons. The shackles on his wrists were then attached to a belt they cinched tightly around his waist, making it impossible for the immortal to move his arms or to raise his hands. When he was finally secured, the first soldier pointed behind Jenkins with his chin.</p>
<p>"Move!" he snapped, more confident now that his prisoner was securely bound. When the sullen Jenkins didn't respond, the two men flanking him spun him around and shoved him forward. The short chain between the shackles on his legs caused him to stumble and fall as he tried but failed to regain his balance. He felt a rifle muzzle jammed hard against his spine between his shoulder blades.</p>
<p>"Get up!" The immortal sighed and clumsily struggled back his feet. The rifle barrel was jammed into his ribs.</p>
<p>"<em>Move</em>!" The thought came to Jenkins that perhaps if he cooperated, at least for now, he might learn something of why he'd been taken and what sort of threat his abductors posed to the Library, for there was no doubt in his mind now that this wasn't just about him—he was convinced that DOSA still wanted the Library as well; he was only a key they were going to use to gain entry. He might have an opportunity to escape, and if he appeared to be compliant and harmless, perhaps they would lower their guard enough to allow him to try.</p>
<p>Jenkins dropped his shoulders in apparent surrender and lowered his head as he began to shuffle slowly down the long aisle between empty display cases toward the elevator.</p>
<hr/>
<p>After getting off the elevator, Jenkins was guided down another long corridor, this one looking just as sterile and bland as the rest of the facility. Whenever he moved too slowly for his escort's liking, he was given a rough shove and told to hurry up. Eventually, a soldier grabbed his arm and roughly pulled him to halt in front of a gray-painted steel door. The lead soldier opened it and went inside, then Jenkins was ordered to follow.</p>
<p>Inside, the room looked exactly like the sort used for interrogations by police: Square, harsh florescent lighting overhead, blank walls covered in squares of white soundproofing material. One wall was spanned by a large rectangular mirror, and Jenkins assumed that it was really a two-way mirror. The only furniture in the room was a steel table that was bolted to the floor, one steel straight-backed chair bolted to the floor, and a second steel chair that was not bolted to the floor.</p>
<p>Jenkins was led over to the bolted chair and forced to sit facing the mirror. His leg shackles were attached to a heavy steel eye-bolt driven into the bare concrete floor, while the shackles on his wrists were detached from the belt and fastened to a similar eye-bolt in the tabletop. Once he was immobilized, he noticed with amusement that the soldiers visibly relaxed as they hurriedly left the room, shutting the door behind them. Jenkins looked straight into the mirror and flashed his biggest smile to the unseen observers he knew were behind the glass.</p>
<p>"Could I trouble you for some hot tea, please?" he called out. "And perhaps a croissant? I haven't had breakfast yet; it <em>is</em> the most important meal of the day, you know!" There was no response.</p>
<p>Fifteen minutes later, the door opened and a vaguely familiar man entered. He wore a two-piece business suit of mediocre-quality navy wool, with a white dress shirt of cotton and a red polyester tie. Jenkins couldn't see the man's shoes, but he assumed they were also of inferior quality. The man had black, slicked-back hair and was carrying an inexpensive, black leather briefcase. He had a look of self-satisfied officiousness on his pale, nondescript face. Jenkins took an instant dislike to him.</p>
<p>"Mr. Jenkins," the man greeted him flatly as he pulled the empty chair out from the table. He paused in mid-movement and gave the immortal a smug look. "Or...do you prefer 'Sir Galahad'?"</p>
<p>"I go by Jenkins now, if you don't mind," the immortal replied conversationally, not giving the man the satisfaction of any kind of a reaction to the fact that he knew the knight's true identity. A look of disappointment flitted over the man's vaguely rat-like features. He sat down, made himself comfortable as he snapped open the briefcase and pulled a manila folder out of the briefcase. laid it on the table. He opened the folder and spent several minutes studiously looked over a couple sheets of paper that were inside of it.</p>
<p>"My name is Linsky, Mr. Jenkins," he said, not looking up from the papers. "Samuel Linsky. I am the Director of the Department of Statistical Anomalies. I'd like to ask you some questions."</p>
<p>"And <em>very</em> important questions they must be, too, for you to have sent my very own squad of goons to fetch me," the immortal said acidly, then craned his neck to peer around Linsky's head. "General Rockwell is hiding back there behind the mirror, I presume?" Linsky frowned as he looked up from the folder.</p>
<p>"I'm afraid General Rockwell is no longer with DOSA," he said primly. "Her failure to successfully complete her mission made a great many people in the Pentagon unhappy. <em>I </em>am in charge now." Jenkins cocked his head, surprised.</p>
<p>"Oh, ho! Trouble in paradise!" he commented snidely. Linsky narrowed his eyes, but didn't answer the question. Instead, he laid the folder on the table in front of him, folded his hands on top of it and looked directly at Jenkins.</p>
<p>"Jenkins, aka Galahad of Camelot," Linsky began, apparently changing the subject. "Immortal, born sometime in the Eighth Century in Ancient Britain. Now a high-ranking member of the covert organization known only as 'The Library', with the title of 'Caretaker'." He narrowed his eyes at the old man sitting across the table.</p>
<p>"What exactly does that entail, 'caretaking'?" he asked. Jenkins shrugged his shoulders.</p>
<p>"I think the title speaks for itself, does it not?" he replied carelessly. Linsky smiled mirthlessly.</p>
<p>"I'm afraid it does not," he said, his voice tinted with irritation. "What tasks <em>specifically</em> are you responsible for as the Caretaker of the Library?" Jenkins stared back, a tiny, impudent smile on his lips.</p>
<p>"I believe I'd like to plead the Fifth Amendment," he said quietly. Linsky blinked and tilted his head slightly in surprise.</p>
<p>"Yes, the Fifth Amendment," Jenkins went on. "It's in the United States Constitution? I'm almost certain that you've heard of that document. You see, the Fifth Amendment guarantees one the right not to be 'compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law'." Jenkins leaned forward slightly and looked directly into Linksy's pale brown eyes.</p>
<p>"You, Mr. Linsky," Jenkins pointed with his chin toward the large window behind Linsky, "And your band of merry men, have done just that; you have deprived me of my liberty without the due process of law. I therefore, in protest, refuse to answer any of your <em>very</em> important questions." Jenkins gave the bureaucrat a pitying look. "So sorry!" As Jenkins leaned back on the stool, Linsky clenched his jaw for a moment as he tried to control his anger.</p>
<p>"You're quite the constitutional scholar, aren't you, Mr. Jenkins?" he said tightly. "Not many people can quote the Constitution word for word." The immortal chuckled and smiled.</p>
<p>"I <em>am</em> an American citizen, Mr. Linsky—a naturalized citizen, of course, but I take my duties as a citizen very seriously." A thoughtful look came to the immortal's face.</p>
<p>"Perhaps it's because I have a rather more intimate knowledge of that particular document than most people," he said pensively. "You see, Mr. Thomas Jefferson—<em>brilliant</em> politician, but an absolutely <em>abysmal</em> scribe—asked me to transcribe his final draft of the Constitution when he was finished composing it. He wanted something that looked especially nice for the Continental Congress to sign, you see, and…"</p>
<p>"<em>You</em> wrote out the Constitution of the United States?!" squawked Linsky, caught completely off-guard. "The <em>same</em> Constitution that's now housed in the National Archives?!" Jenkins gave the man a perplexed look.</p>
<p>"Yes, of course!" he said amiably. "The Declaration of Independence, too. As I said, Mr. Jefferson's handwriting was simply <em>dreadful</em>, so when he asked me to transcribe those fine documents for him, I was more than happy to oblige." Jenkins shook his head, a wistful look on his face.</p>
<p>"My handwriting in those days <em>was</em> exceptionally beautiful, if I do say so myself." Linsky gaped at him in astonishment as Jenkins leaned forward a second time.</p>
<p>"I wanted to do my part for the cause, you know," Jenkins stage whispered, and winked at Linsky conspiratorially. "Something besides the actual fighting, that is."</p>
<p>"Fighting?" echoed Linsky, and Jenkins nodded.</p>
<p>"Oh, yes!" he said, giving the bureaucrat a proud look as Linsky narrowed his eyes suspiciously.</p>
<p>"So you turned against your own people, then?" he accused eagerly. Jenkins snorted.</p>
<p>"I am a Briton!" he said, surprising Linsky with a unexpected look of anger. "There was no such place as "England" when I was a young man." Momentarily forgetting himself, the DOSA man leaned in slightly.</p>
<p>"There wasn't?" he asked, genuinely curious. Jenkins grunted in assent.</p>
<p>"Those…so-called <em>Redcoats</em>," he sneered in disgust, "were the descendants of the Saxon invaders who took and pillaged our land and nearly wiped my people from the face of the earth! I had absolutely <em>no</em> qualms about killing a few dozen of them!" He leaned in to stare directly into Linsky's eyes.</p>
<p>"Indeed, I was one of the first to sign up to fight for American independence from their oppressive, draconian system of government that routinely deprived its citizens of their basic human rights—I'm sure <em>you</em> know exactly what I'm talking about, Mr. Linsky!" Jenkins then gave Linksy a dramatic, sly wink. The immortal noted with satisfaction that Linsky's jaw clenched tightly as he glared furiously at him. Linsky raised his hand and signaled to someone behind the mirror.</p>
<p>A few seconds later, two of the armed soldiers burst into the cramped room and took up positions on either side of Jenkins, just out of his line of sight; he mentally braced himself.</p>
<p>"You will answer <em>all</em> of my questions, Mr. Jenkins," Linsky said coldly, dropping all pretense of civility. "Starting with Library security systems and protocols." He leaned forward, a predatory expression on his face.</p>
<p>"You see—I intend to accomplish <em>everything</em> General Rockwell failed to do, Mr. Jenkins. And let me assure you that I <em>will</em> take the Library. I <em>will</em> confiscate its artifacts. I <em>will</em> take the Librarians into custody. I <em>will</em> shut the Library and its operations down, once and for all!" He sat back in his chair again.</p>
<p>"Now," he said tensely. "Tell me about the Library's security systems and their protocols. How do I gain access to the Library?" He gazed intently at the immortal. Jenkins stared defiantly back.</p>
<p>"No."</p>
<p>Taking an exasperated breath, Linsky gave a short nod to one of the soldiers. Stars exploded across Jenkins's field of vison and he involuntarily gasped loudly with pain as he was struck sharply in the back of his head with a rifle butt. He hunched over the table, holding his breath as he waited for the blinding pain to subside. In the meantime, Linsky's eye was caught by the glint of gold on the immortal's tightly clenched left hand.</p>
<p>It looked like…a wedding ring?</p>
<p>The Director narrowed his eyes and opened the folder again, quickly scanned the papers inside, then frowned. There was nothing in the Caretaker's dossier about him being married. But then again, the intelligence he'd received from Rockwell's tenure was over two years old by now; the stubborn old fool could've conceivably gotten married recently. The ring <em>did</em> look fairly new. But who could he have possibly married? Not anyone outside the Library, he reasoned; that would be too risky. Linsky knew that the ones called Judson and Charlene were out of the picture now, and that Carsen and Baird were a long-time item. According to the most recent intel, it was generally believed that the two younger men, Stone and Jones, were also a couple, so that left only one possibility—the mathematician, Cassandra Cillian.</p>
<p>Linsky scowled as he wondered briefly how someone over a thousand years old could capture the fancy of a woman so young, but then he supposed that if someone was over a thousand years old, age really <em>was</em> just a number. Linsky sat up and decided to try a different tack. He leaned forward and cleared his throat.</p>
<p>"I do wish you would cooperate with us, Mr. Jenkins," he said smoothly, allowing just a trace of menace into his voice. He'd been practicing the technique for weeks now, and he'd been dying to try it out. "I'd hate to have to bring your beautiful wife—Cassandra is her name, right?—I'd hate to have to bring <em>her</em> in for questioning…"</p>
<p>As he let the threat hang in the air, he was gratified to see the silver head snap up, the immortal's eyes suddenly flashing with panic and fear mixed with pure hatred for just a moment before a blank mask dropped to cover his true feelings.</p>
<p><em>Bingo!</em> Linsky thought with glee. He grinned at the man across the table.</p>
<p>"Now, why don't you tell me all about those security systems, hmm?" Linsky said, confident that he had the upper hand now. Jenkins stared back, his face expressionless.</p>
<p>"No," he sneered, calling the other man's bluff. Linsky's eyes hardened and he pressed his lips tightly together as he struggled to control his temper. He finally stood up, gathering his papers and stuffing them into the briefcase.</p>
<p>"Corporal!" he barked as he clicked the case shut, addressing one of the soldiers. "Mr. Jenkins is resolved to be uncooperative with the United States Government. See what you and your partner can do about…<em>'softening'</em> that resolve." The soldier nodded curtly, acknowledging the implied order.</p>
<p>"Yes, sir!" he snapped, then he and the other soldier saluted as Linsky turned to leave. As the bureaucrat passed through the steel doorway, he smiled with satisfaction as he heard the sharp crack of the soldier's rifle butt striking the obstinate immortal's head again.</p>
<hr/>
<p>The Librarians and their Guardian were huddled around a layout of the DOSA portside warehouse facility that Ezekiel had stolen from the agency's internal servers, thanks to his impeccable hacking skills. Eve Baird had already run them through Plan A—a simple, straightforward hit and run operation into the facility to free Jenkins, then high-tailing it out of there as fast as possible before they were discovered. She was now asking for suggestions for a Plan B, just in case something went wrong with Plan A. As everyone was throwing out ideas, Cassandra's phone buzzed in her pocket, alerting her to an incoming text.</p>
<p>"Jenkins!" she gasped hopefully as she quickly pulled her phone out and glanced at the screen. Eve, who'd been closely watching the young woman throughout her ordeal, saw Cassandra's face blanch as she read the message. Eve held up her hand to silence the others and to get their attention.</p>
<p>"Cass, what is it?" Eve asked, her eyes fixed on the Librarian. Cassandra looked up and around at the anxious faces, her eyes watery and frightened.</p>
<p>"It's…it's from DOSA," she whispered faintly. Jake, standing next to her, instantly reached over and plucked the phone from her numb hands; she made no protest.</p>
<p>"'Mrs. Jenkins: Your husband needs you. Come to the DOSA warehouse in one hour. You know where it is'," he read, then looked up. "That's all it says." The group exchanged worried glances.</p>
<p>"<em>Dammit</em>! They know we're on to them," muttered Eve in disappointment. "So much for the element of surprise."</p>
<p>"Wait," said Jake, cocking his head as his brain spun to process the idea forming there. "They knew Jenkins was an immortal, but they probably don't know that <em>you and Flynn</em> are immortal, too—otherwise wouldn't they've taken you as well when they had the chance?" Eve's eyes widened with understanding.</p>
<p>"That's right!" she said. "General Rockwell said that DOSA had no knowledge of Jenkins and Cassandra getting married, and since our Tethering didn't happen until after their marriage, DOSA probably <em>doesn't</em> know about us!" The Guardian suddenly frowned.</p>
<p>"But they've clearly figured out now that that Jenkins and Cass <em>are</em> married; but how?" she wondered aloud.</p>
<p>"His Sealing ring," Cassandra said quietly, staring down at the small gold ring on her hand as she twisted it nervously on her finger. "He <em>always</em> wears it, they probably figured it out from that." Jake handed her phone back and squeezed her arm reassuringly.</p>
<p>"Linsky thinks he's bein' pretty slick with that text, thinks he's playin' a little mind game with Cass and with us," Stone said, his gravelly voice thoughtful. "But I'm bettin' he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and I think we can turn this thing around on 'im."</p>
<p>"How so?" asked Ezekiel.</p>
<p>"We send Cass to go and meet DOSA, let them take her straight to Jenkins—with us right behind her," he said, looking around at the intent, anxious faces. "We go in, get Jenkins, get out. Simple as that."</p>
<p>"That <em>could</em> be what they want us to do," said Eve. "This <em>could</em> be a trap and Jenkins is the bait." Jake shook his head and shrugged.</p>
<p>"If it is, then we just have to hit 'em, <em>hard</em>," he replied, eyes glittering. "Government agency or not, they can't have Jenkins! If I have to go in alone to get 'im, I will!"</p>
<p>"You won't be going in alone, mate," said Ezekiel. "Count me in!"</p>
<p>"I don't care if it's a trap, either," said Cassandra, her voice rough, her glittering eyes determined. "I'm not going to just stand by and let them take my husband away from me! If they capture me, too, well…at least me and Jenkins'll be together!"</p>
<p>"Okay, <em>no one</em> is going in, alone or otherwise!" interrupted Baird sternly. Her frustrated blue eyes swept the small group. "We all want Jenkins back, but it won't do him any good if we walk straight in a trap! What we need is a <em>plan</em>, people—a <em>new</em> plan."</p>
<p>The men grumbled, but there was no more talk of a frontal assault on the DOSA facility. Instead, everyone began throwing ideas out for a way to infiltrate the facility without being caught. While Jake and Ezekiel continued to enthusiastically pitch ideas, Eve noted that Cassandra was subdued and said little. She also noted a strange look on the mathematician's face, something that struck the soldier as a blend of steely resolve that seemed to grow stronger with each passing minute. The Guardian opened her mouth to ask Cassandra what she was thinking, but she beat her to the punch.</p>
<p>"I have an idea," Cassandra announced quietly, but in a tone that stopped all conversation in the room. Three sets of eyes turned to focus on her.</p>
<p>"I think… I think we need reinforcements," she said haltingly. She waved limply toward Jake and Ezekiel. "We saw what kind of security is in place at the warehouse. We were lucky to be able to sneak in on one of their trucks last time, but there's no way that trick will work twice. We need to be able to get past <em>all</em> of the guards and security cameras without being seen so that we can locate Jenkins and free him." Cassandra stood up suddenly and began walking purposefully toward the Back Door.</p>
<p>"What are you doing?" Ezekiel stood and asked when Cassandra opened the globe and began setting location coordinates. "Where are you going?" She pushed down the plunger-like lever that activated the device and the mechanism began spinning to life. The Librarian hurried over to stand in front of the double doors.</p>
<p>"I think I know of someone who can help us!" she called out, not looking behind her as the rest of the team scrambled to their feet. "If everything goes right, I should be back in half an hour; forty-five minutes, tops!"</p>
<p>"But DOSA only gave you an hour to show up at the warehouse!" hollered Jake in alarm. The doors opened wide before the young woman, like welcoming arms.</p>
<p>"I know! I'll be back in plenty of time!" Before anyone could say another word or stop her, Cassandra stepped through the portal and disappeared.</p>
<p>The mechanism slowly powered down and fell silent. After a moment of hesitation, Eve ran over to the device and checked the coordinate settings, the others right behind her.</p>
<p>"Where'd she go?" asked Ezekiel, trying to peer past Baird. She stood up straight and shook her head in puzzlement.</p>
<p>"Charleston, South Carolina," she said, her brows knitting together. "What's in…?" The Guardian's eyes widened as she suddenly realized what Cassandra meant—and who she'd gone to see. Eve turned around and smiled as she gave the men a triumphant grin.</p>
<p>"If she's going to bring back who I <em>think</em> she's going to bring back, then we, gentlemen, are going to have very big arrow in our quiver!"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. An Unusual Ally</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Mr. Jenkins? Are you awake? Yes? Perhaps you'd care to rethink your position on answering my questions, now?"</p>
<p>Jenkins raised his throbbing head slowly, taking care not to move too quickly lest nausea overtake him. His neck and shoulders painfully protested when he tried to look at whoever was speaking to him. He found that he could see out of only one eye, and not very well at that. The other had swollen completely shut. He cocked his head so as to be able to see the man across the table from him more clearly.</p>
<p>"Ah, Mr. Linksy!" he rasped, licking the blood from his lips. He tried to smile, but winced at the sharp pain that reminded him of his split lower lip. "There you are! I was beginning to think that you'd forgotten about me…" Jenkins could just make out the scowl on the DOSA man's face.</p>
<p>"You're only making things harder on yourself, Mr. Jenkins," Linsky sniffed archly. "<em>And</em> on that pretty little wife of yours—how positively frantic she must be by now!" Linksy leaned back in his chair, and a sly look that Jenkins didn't care for at all came to the Director's face.</p>
<p>"Well, no matter," Linsky went on smoothly. "You may not care about her feelings, but I do. I fact, I took the liberty of sending her a message, just to let her know where you were. I didn't go into any details, of course, I just told her that you needed help. She should be here in just under—" He made a show of checking his watch. "Just under an hour."</p>
<p>Linsky chuckled at the hate-filled glare that blazed out of the old man's one good eye. He tented his fingers at chest level as he looked passively back, an evil-looking smile spreading across his face. He knew from the intelligence reports gathered two years ago by that incompetent Rockwell that Cassandra Cillian was close to the immortal. It had been a surprise to discover that they were actually married, but Linsky quickly understood that the girl was going to be the fatal chink in this old fool's armor. He chuckled at the appropriateness of that metaphor.</p>
<p>"Poor Cassandra," he clucked sympathetically. "A young, energetic, beautiful young woman like that—it must be difficult for a man your age to…keep up with her, if you get my meaning." To the Director's surprise and consternation, his words didn't have the desired effect; Jenkins merely snorted softly, his eye now filling with disdain. Peeved by the lack of reaction from Jenkins, Linsky decided it was time to play hardball.</p>
<p>"You know, Mr. Jenkins, speaking of beautiful young energetic women," he said in an oily voice as he leaned forward to place his arms on the table in front of him. "I just saw a report not too long ago about the scourge of human trafficking currently running rampant in our nation." He shook his head sadly.</p>
<p>"So many young women—just like your wife—simply snatched off the streets every single day and sold into the sex trade, never to be heard from again! It's appalling, really. All those poor women sold into prostitution! Or even <em>worse</em> than prostitution, if some of the government's intelligence reports can be believed." Linsky leaned forward even more and his voice took on a note of eagerness as he shared his information with the bloodied Caretaker.</p>
<p>"For example: I've heard that in some parts of the world redheaded women are almost unheard of. It's true!" he said, his tone one of false disbelief. "A great many of the redheads who are taken are purchased by foreign dignitaries as sexual novelties. They use and abuse them—and I know for a fact, Mr. Jenkins, that many of these dignitaries have some very violent and—how shall I put it?—<em>unsavory</em> proclivities when it comes to sex." Linsky chuckled again at the thought and shook his head.</p>
<p>"And when they grow tired of their playthings, they just sort of…get rid of them," he said, waving his hand in a careless gesture. "Gift them to someone they know, give them to lower-ranked employees as a reward, re-sell them to whichever slum-based brothel can afford to scrape up the few dollars it takes to buy them." Linsky shrugged, as if such a thing was simply the natural order of things.</p>
<p>"Well, that's the fate of the ones who have survived their original buyers, I <em>should</em> say; the ones who don't survive just sort of…turn up in the local dump or the landfill or wherever garbage is disposed of in those countries." The Director noted with satisfaction that while Jenkins's face remained stony, his fists were tightly clenched, the knuckles almost snow-white. Linsky grinned wolfishly as he went in for the kill.</p>
<p>"Can you just imagine it, Mr. Jenkins? Those poor women! And the only thing that they did wrong was to go out in public—running errands, visiting friends, shopping. Keeping…<em>appointments</em>."</p>
<p>The last two words were spoken in such a way that Jenkins couldn't miss the threat. Linsky expected the implied promise of harm to the old man's wife to elicit a response, but he was wholly unprepared for the ferocity of what he got.</p>
<p>With a harsh, choked roar of pure rage, Jenkins jumped up from the stool and tried to launch himself across the table. He fell heavily onto his elbows, his movement restricted by his bonds. He strained mightily against the steel shackles that held his hands immobile, their hard edges biting so deeply into his flesh that thin trickles of blood appeared and ran around his wrists. Finding himself unable to reach his tormentor, Jenkins lashed out the only way he could, hopeless though it was; he stretched his long body as far across the table as his could, and literally snapped his teeth at Linksy, snarling like a trapped, wounded animal. The Director reflexively jumped up from his own chair and backed away from the enraged immortal, nearly stumbling over the chair in his haste and falling backward, landing hard against the glass of the two-way mirror.</p>
<p>"GUARDS!" he screamed, turning to face the mirror and banging on it with his fist, his tan eyes wide with fear. The door next to him opened and four of the armed soldiers that had escorted Jenkins from the lower level crowded into the small room. Two trained their rifles on Jenkins, while the other two pulled out tasers and took aim.</p>
<p>"Wait!" Still shaken somewhat, but emboldened now that he had protection, Linsky stepped away from the wall and straightened his clothes, then leaned on the edge of the table, staring down into the hate-filled eyes of the Caretaker. The Director reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a photograph. He turned it around so that Jenkins could see it: It was a covertly-taken picture of Cassandra, the young woman standing just outside of the Annex. Linsky turned the picture around again and gazed down at the image hungrily.</p>
<p>"Look at her—she's simply exquisite!" he cooed. His eyes glanced up at Jenkins and narrowed.</p>
<p>"It would be a shame to see her shipped off to some rutting pig who has no true appreciation for such beauty," he commented salaciously. He looked down at the picture again and smiled like a crocodile. "When she shows up, I think I'll simply take her into 'protective custody' for myself." As he had hoped, the furious immortal took the bait, hook, line and sinker.</p>
<p>"<em>I'll kill you</em>!" shouted Jenkins hoarsely, and lunged across the table again, blind with rage at the idea of this maggot so much as laying a hand on his Cassandra. His bound hands futilely clawed the air while he yelled dire threats as to what Linsky's fate would be the moment Jenkins got hold of him. With a yelp, Linsky threw himself against the mirrored wall for a second time, and looked up at the soldiers with their tasers still trained on the struggling Caretaker.</p>
<p>"Don't just stand there! Hit him!" Linsky hollered, panic tinging his voice. The soldiers obeyed instantly. Two sets of sharp prongs shot out from the tasers and embedded themselves into Jenkins's skin, each sending 50,000 volts of electricity into him. The immortal's body seized up and his vison went black as he lost consciousness, not even feeling it when he dropped limply onto the cold steel tabletop and slumped partially to the floor.</p>
<p>In the confusion, no one noticed that one of the links in the chain that held Jenkins's hands bound to the table had begun to separate under the force of his wrath, ever so slightly.</p>
<hr/>
<p>While Cassandra was off in South Carolina, Eve turned her attention to DOSA.</p>
<p>"Jones," she called briskly as she turned away from the Back Door. "Do you think you can hack into DOSA's servers again and get us more detailed schematics or blueprints for that warehouse?" With a humorless grin, the Australian turned his computer's monitor around so that she could see it.</p>
<p>"Already there!" he announced proudly. Eve and Jake hurried over to look at the spidery, multi-colored lines spread across the monitor screen in a complicated-looking tangle.</p>
<p>"Wow," breathed Eve, dismayed. "What <em>is</em> all of this?"</p>
<p>"Master plans," answered Ezekiel. "It shows <em>everything</em> that's contained within the structure—electric and gas lines, data lines, phone lines, water and sewage lines, ventilation ducts, elevators, security wiring, the layout of the structure itself—everything."</p>
<p>"So how the hell do we find Jenkins in all of <em>that</em>?" asked Jake. Ezekiel gave his friend a reproving look and quickly hit a few keys on the keyboard. Instantly, everything disappeared except for the building's original blueprint. A few more keystrokes, and the blueprint split apart into four separate levels. He tapped a finger on a middle level.</p>
<p>"That's the ground level," he said. "Garage, storage, mechanical equipment, that kind of stuff. This is where we went in when we were there two years ago on that truck, and it's where we gained access to the elevator that took us to Jenkins. Turns out it's the <em>only</em> elevator they have, too." He next tapped on the bottom level.</p>
<p>"This is their 'Library'," he said with distaste. "This is where we found Jenkins after DOSA took him from our Library. It's completely below ground." He then pointed out the two topmost levels.</p>
<p>"These look like administrative spaces," he said. "Offices, meeting rooms, a full kitchen-slash-breakroom." Jones leaned forward and narrowed his eyes in concentration, then pointed to a small grouping of rooms on the topmost level.</p>
<p>"There's this bank of four small rooms, though, that I can't figure out. They're all in the middle of the floor, each room has what looks like a small outer room attached to it. They're too small to be regular offices, but they're too big to be closets; there's no plumbing hooked up, so they aren't restrooms..." Eve leaned forward to get a closer look, just as puzzled about them as Ezekiel, but then it hit her.</p>
<p>"Interrogation rooms!" she breathed excitedly. "They're interrogation rooms! Can you zoom in on those, Jones?" He tapped several keys and the block of small rooms suddenly enlarged to almost fill the monitor. As soon as she saw them, she stood up straight and pointed at them.</p>
<p>"They <em>are</em> interrogation rooms," she declared. "No outside windows, a separate entry door. And see how they're divided? That smaller room has its own doors—that's the observation room; I'd bet anything that that separating wall is a two-way mirror."</p>
<p>"Yeah, but they're not actually <em>holding</em> Jenkins in an interrogation room," said Jake. "Not unless they're questioning 'im twenty-four/seven." The Guardian gave Stone a hard look.</p>
<p>"If DOSA is as hell-bent on getting information from Jenkins as General Rockwell says they are, then I wouldn't put that past them. From the way she describes it, DOSA's on the verge of becoming a full-blown black ops agency. They want <em>everything</em> that Jenkins knows and has, and they're going to do whatever it takes to get it." Jacob turned to look Eve straight in the eyes.</p>
<p>"Including torture?" he asked, his voice a low growl. Shocked, Ezekiel turned to look at her as well, fear in his black eyes. Eve looked at each one in turn, then dropped her head with a heavy sigh. She didn't want to alarm the Librarians, but there was no point in sugar-coating the situation.</p>
<p>"According to Rockwell—yes." With a hissed curse, Jake turned away and punched the air in anger.</p>
<p>"And DOSA knows all about Jenkins's fear of rats, too," added Eve, deciding to tell them everything. The two men turned to stare at her in disbelief.</p>
<p>"How...?" Jake began to ask, but Jones interrupted him.</p>
<p>"The Wiki-leaks dump," the Librarian said flatly. Eve nodded. Jake's face paled and he turned away from the others.</p>
<p>"NO!" he yelled, angry. "No! No! NO!" He started for corridor that led to the lab. Ezekiel put his hand on the historian's arm to stop him, but Jake angrily shook him off. "Leave me alone! This is my fault! <em>My fault</em>!" Jake turned and ran from the room. The thief started after him, but Eve caught him and held him back.</p>
<p>"Let him go, Jones, he's upset," she said. "Give him some time to cool off, then I'll go and talk to him." For a moment it looked like the Librarian was going to ignore her instructions, but held onto him until he complied. She had worked much more closely with the young Librarians over the years, and she knew them and their very different personalities well by now.</p>
<p>"Yeah, okay." Ezekiel nodded and reluctantly turned came back to the computer.</p>
<p>"And I think—for now, anyway—we keep that part of this whole mess to ourselves," Eve said soberly as she looked Jones pointedly. "Cassandra is upset enough right now; she doesn't need the image of Jenkins being tortured by rats implanted into her head on top of everything else. Agreed?" Ezekiel exchanged glances with his Guardian, then went back to his computer monitor.</p>
<p>"Agreed," said Ezekiel, nodding.</p>
<p>No sooner was the word out of Ezekiel's mouth than the Back Door mechanism whirred to life and the doors began to glow. Jones and Baird turned to watch, anxious to find out what Cassandra had been up to. The doors swung open quietly, and two figures stepped though with a slight stumble over the threshold. One was Cassandra. The other was a woman with Hispanic features and long, wavy black hair tied back in a long braid and comfortably dressed in jeans, cowboy boots and an olive-green cotton blouse. She was of about the same height as Cassandra, and appeared to be about the same age. As soon as the women were through, the doors swung closed and the mechanism powered down. The dark-haired woman stood rooted to her spot on the floor as she looked all around the room, her face registering awe and wonder.</p>
<p>Eve stared at the newcomer, struck by her beauty; Cassandra had told the Guardian all about her, but until now Eve had never met her face to face. Ezekiel tensed and glared sullenly as unpleasant memories of his last meeting with the visitor came instantly to mind. Eve stepped forward and extended her hand.</p>
<p>"You must be Estrella," she said briskly, giving the woman a polite smile. "My name is Eve Baird. Welcome to the Library." Estrella walked over to the tall blonde and took her proffered hand.</p>
<p>"Yes, Colonel Eve Baird—I know!" she answered, her melodious voice tinged by a Valencian accent. "Cassandra has told me so much about you—all of you—I almost fell like I've known you for ages!" Estrella then turned toward Ezekiel, a tight, forced smile on her face.</p>
<p>"Ezekiel Jones," she said stiffly. He said nothing, only nodding once in acknowledgement. In the meantime, Franklin had crept forward quietly to investigate the stranger, snuffling softly around her feet and ankles. Suddenly, the little dragon jumped backward from the woman, his long ears going back flat against his long neck. He lowered his head to the floor, black eyes wide and fixed on Estrella, his long tail whipping back and forth behind him.</p>
<p>He then opened his mouth and screamed angrily, baring a snout full of small, very sharp teeth. As the surprised humans looked on, Franklin darted forward and bit one of Estrella's legs just below her knee, hard, his teeth easily penetrating the denim fabric of her blue jeans. She cried out in pain and instinctively kicked her injured leg out, sending the dragon skidding and rolling across the wooden floor. As soon as he regained his feet, he screamed a second time and charged Estrella again.</p>
<p>"Franklin!" yelled Eve, shocked. She ran to cut him off, and grabbed the tea dragon by his long neck. She picked him and carried him a few paces away from Estrella, while Cassandra hurried over to check on their guest. Franklin twisted wildly and fought against Eve's hold, screeching furiously, his eyes never leaving Estrella.</p>
<p>"Eve! Get him out of here!" called Cassandra. "Take him to the lab and shut him inside!" Eve tightened her grip on the enraged dragon and ran from the workroom with him. Cassandra stooped to push up the leg of their visitors jeans so she could examine Estrella's injured leg. She wasn't terribly surprised to see that the wounds were already healing; if Estrella were human, it would've been a very nasty bite. She got back to her feet, dusting her hands and knees.</p>
<p>"Looks like being a vampire has some advantages," she commented, a worried, embarrassed expression on her face.</p>
<p>"I don't understand what happened," Cassandra went on, shaking her head in confusion. "Why did Franklin act like that? He's <em>never</em> attacked anyone like that before!"</p>
<p>"'There's hardly a purer creature in the world than a tea dragon'," Ezekiel suddenly said, his arms crossed over his chest as he continued to quote. "'There is simply no such thing as an evil tea dragon; they are the very embodiment of Good'." The Australian shrugged his shoulders at the bemused expressions of the two women. "He was reacting to Estrella's scent—her <em>vampire</em> scent."</p>
<p>"I...I don't understand," said Cassandra, glancing nervously at her friend. "How do you know that?" Jones lowered his head for a moment as a small smile twisted his mouth.</p>
<p>"I <em>can</em> read, you know," he said sarcastically. "Don't care for it much, just not my thing, but it <em>does</em> come in handy from time to time. For example: I've also read that Eastern dragons are elemental spirits, unlike Western dragons, who are simply animals. Eastern dragons are good, for the most part. And tea dragons embody that same elemental spirit, and so they're considered magical creatures. And of <em>all</em> the species of dragons—Eastern and Western—tea dragons are the most innocent and pure and good; <em>totally</em> incapable of intentional evil. And since they're the embodiment of Good, they can't help but hate the presence of Evil." A look of horror came to Cassandra's face, and she quickly glanced over at her friend.</p>
<p>"Are you saying that Franklin thinks Estrella is <em>evil</em>? Just because she's vampire?" Ezekiel shrugged his shoulders again, his smile broadening; he was enjoying this a great deal.</p>
<p>"Of course! Just like in the West, in the Far East vampires are basically ghouls—living dead who feed off of the living. They're undead monsters with no mind, no feelings, no soul—everything that once made them human has been stripped away, leaving nothing but a magically reanimated zombie that wants only to kill the living. And by that, I mean <em>anything</em> living, not necessarily humans only." Jones grinned as he lowered his arms and leaned against the edge of the workroom table, absorbed the results of his impromptu lecture. Estrella glared suspiciously at the thief, while Cassandra gaped at him, appalled.</p>
<p>"Ezekiel!" the redhead gasped.</p>
<p>"Mr. Jones speaks of the <em>jiangshi</em>," said Estrella stonily. "I have heard of them; they are <em>not</em> the same as Western vampires, such as myself."</p>
<p>"<em>Jiangshi</em>?" Cassandra echoed, turning her head to look at Estrella. Ezekiel grinned and nodded in agreement.</p>
<p>"Your little fanger friend here—despite her appearance and her ability to be able to think and reason and act like a normal human being—is still a species of undead, a <em>jiangshi</em> in Chinese. Franklin can smell that, and that's <em>all</em> he sees—an undead parasite that feeds off the living." The thief dropped into a chair and sighed heavily, his eyes locked onto the two women.</p>
<p>"I'm guessing that Franklin's kind have had enough run-ins with the <em>jiangshi</em> to know the undead are evil. Vampires over there have probably hunted and killed any tea dragons in the vicinity and chowed down on them for centuries. A pure, magical animal like a tea dragon would make a <em>jiangshi</em> a super-tasty snack!" Cassandra gaped at the Librarian, a look of pure disgust on her face.</p>
<p>"That's <em>awful</em>!" she said, her mind imagining a Chinese vampire happily munching on the corpse of a dead tea dragon. She shuddered and pushed the ugly picture from her mind.</p>
<p>"Yeah, that's terrible," said Ezekiel, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "So why did you bring <em>that</em> vampire <em>here</em>, to the Library?" Cassandra shot the thief a sour, questioning look.</p>
<p>"She's not a <em>jiangshi</em>! she answered coldly. "I asked Estrella to help us get Jenkins back! I thought that with her super-human abilities and strength, she might be able to get in and out of the facility a lot easier than any of us could without being caught."</p>
<p>"And if I do find myself in some trouble, I am very capable to getting myself out of it," said Estrella.</p>
<p>"Oh, great, so does that mean you're going to turn all of those DOSA dudes into fangers, too, then?" snorted Jones in derision. Cassandra's stared at him angrily.</p>
<p>"Ezekiel, <em>what</em> is your problem?!" she demanded. He jabbed a finger straight at Estrella.</p>
<p>"<em>She's</em> my 'problem'!" he snapped back, uncowed. "Remember how a bunch of <em>her</em> kind almost sucked every drop of blood me and Stone had that last time we were at her spa? 'Cause <em>I</em> sure as hell do!"</p>
<p>"As do I, Mr. Jones!" snapped Estrella, her dark eyes blazing. "And I would ask <em>you</em> to also remember that neither Mama nor I had any idea what Tomás and his supporters were planning to do!" She quickly crossed the space that separated her from the thief and glared directly into his eyes.</p>
<p>"And I will <em>also</em> ask you to remember, Mr. Jones, that it <em>I</em> who killed Tomás—my own brother!—in order to <em>protect</em> Cassandra from him!"</p>
<p>"And even though Jenkins killed all of those vampires in order to save <em>your</em> ungrateful ass, Estrella still agreed to come and help free him!" Cassandra was now standing next to Estrella, both women fuming as they glared at Ezekiel.</p>
<p>His ire was instantly deflated by the reminder of Tomás and how he had met his end; he also remembered that because of the Librarians, Estrella had also lost her mother, even though she hadn't even mentioned it. Yet here she was, still eager to help rescue one of their own. Jones dropped his eyes and raised his hand as he backed off.</p>
<p>"All right, all right," he said, chastened. "You're right; sorry. I'm just…I'm just worried about Jenkins, that's all." Mollified, Cassandra's expression softened.</p>
<p>"Yeah, me too," she murmured, and offered a wan smile before turning to her friend. "But hopefully, Estrella can help us with that."</p>
<p>"I count Jenkins a friend, as I do <em>all</em> of you, now," Estrella said, her voice kindly now as she looked pointedly at Ezekiel. She extended her hand toward him. "Truce?" Ezekiel paused only a moment, then reached out to take the woman's hand and shake it.</p>
<p>"Truce."</p>
<hr/>
<p>Eve rushed down the corridor to the lab, struggling to keep her hold on the madly writhing Franklin. She finally made it to the laboratory and violently kicked the heavy new steel door open with her foot as she dashed inside. She removed one hand from the angry dragon just long enough to slam the door closed, then bent over to turn him loose. Franklin immediately threw himself at the steel door, small claws scrabbling futilely against the metal while he screeched with fury.</p>
<p>Eve sighed with relief and began to examine herself. Her arms and hands were scratched; some of them were rather deep and bleeding, but none were serious. Far more aggravating were the several rips all over the sleeves and front of her favorite khaki jumpsuit.</p>
<p>"Dammit, Franklin!" she muttered, probing one particularly long slash with her fingers. Her head snapped up at the sound of a whiskey-voiced chuckle coming from across the room.</p>
<p>"Looks like the little grub got you good!" said Jake, a lopsided smile on his face. He was sitting on one of the Jenkins's workbenches, his legs dangling. He pointed with his chin at the angry tea dragon still trying to claw his way out of the lab. "What's his problem?"</p>
<p>"Apparently, tea dragons don't like the undead," sighed the Guardian heavily as she walked over to Jake. He cocked his head slightly, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.</p>
<p>"And what's that mean?" he asked. Eve hopped up onto the next to Stone.</p>
<p>"It means that Cassandra is back from South Carolina, and she had Estrella in tow. As soon as Franklin smelled 'vampire' on her, he sank his teeth into Estrella's leg and would've chewed it off if I hadn't pulled him off of her and brought him here!"</p>
<p>"<em>Estrella</em>?" repeated Jake, surprised. "Why'd she drag Estrella all the way out here?"</p>
<p>"My guess is because Cassandra thinks she can help us rescue Jenkins," Baird answered. "I had to grab Franklin and get him out of the workroom, so I didn't get to hear anything else after they came through the Back Door." At the mention of Jenkins, the Librarian's head dropped. Eve knew what he was thinking, and she laid her hand on his shoulder.</p>
<p>"We're going to get him out, Jacob," she said firmly. He immediately threw his shoulder back to get her to remove her hand, then he jumped down from the workbench and moved away from her.</p>
<p>"It's my fault he's in this mess!" he accused himself bitterly, his eyes never leaving the floor. "If I hadn't brought Surya here, if I hadn't told her about us and the Library and Jenkins..." Eve lowered herself from the bench and went to him.</p>
<p>"Jacob, you didn't know..." she began. He whirled around and glared at her, his blue eyes burning, tears threatening to well up.</p>
<p>"I <em>shoulda</em> known, though!" he yelled. "How many times did Jenkins tell us that we had to keep the Library secret, huh? How many times did he tell us that we could <em>never</em> tell <em>anyone</em> who we are or what we do?!" He turned away from the tall Guardian and took a few paces away, scrubbing his face with both of his hands. Franklin, hearing the Librarian's yelling, momentarily forgot about the vampire in the workroom and had turned to stare quietly and warily at Jake.</p>
<p>"So what do <em>I </em>do? The first pretty face that comes along, I open my big mouth and spill my guts to her! A <em>reporter</em>!" He knocked himself angrily on both sides of his head with closed fists. "A goddamn <em>reporter</em>, Eve!"</p>
<p>Agitated, he began to pace around the room. He remembered the day that Surya's story appeared. No one had known about his bringing the journalist to the Library until then. She had sworn to Jake that she would never tell what she had seen and heard, but Jake figured that the temptation had simply been too much for her to ignore. Just like it had been for him.</p>
<p>Eve, Ezekiel and Cassandra had been shocked and angry over his carelessness. Even Flynn, who usually could keep negative emotions like anger on a fairly short leash, had been furious, giving Jacob a loud and thorough dressing-down. Jenkins...</p>
<p>The old Caretaker's reaction had been the worst. He had quietly read Surya's article, then, with a small sigh, he looked up at Jake. The immortal's eyes were full of pained sadness.</p>
<p>"I'm very disappointed in you, Jacob," he said quietly. And that was all. Jenkins then got up and walked out of the room without another word, and never mentioned the incident again. Jenkins could have run Jake though with Excalibur that day, and it wouldn't have cut the young Librarian as deeply as those few soft, sad words of displeasure spoken by the man he admired, respected and loved so much.</p>
<p>
  <em>I'm very disappointed in you, Jacob.</em>
</p>
<p>Eve knew why Jacob was so upset. She knew how much Jenkins meant to him. She'd been in the workroom that day, had witnessed the whole thing, had seen the stricken look on Jake's face as Jenkins walked away from him. No one could miss how Jake hung on every word from the immortal's mouth, how he strove to win Jenkins's approval and praise, how he tried to make Jenkins proud of him. The Caretaker had become a father to Jake—and Jake had become a son to Jenkins. Eve knew how much Jake's unintentional betrayal of the Library and its secrets had hurt the old man, but to his credit, he didn't hold it against Jake. Jenkins would sooner have his arms cut off than admit it, but she knew that he loved Jake every bit as much as Jake loved him.</p>
<p>"You made a mistake, Jacob, that's all," she said sympathetically.</p>
<p>"A mistake!" he said, his voice anguished. "I betrayed the Library, I betrayed all of you, I betrayed Jenkins! And now look what's happened because of my 'mistake'!" Eve set her jaw and went to Jake. She grabbed his shoulder and spun him around to face her.</p>
<p>"Cassandra betrayed the Library to the Serpent Brotherhood," she said, her voice steady and low as she looked him in the eyes. "She made a mistake, and Jenkins <em>married</em> her! Do you think he would've done that if he held her mistake against her?"</p>
<p>"She was sick," he protested. "She only did that 'cause she thought they could cure her!" Baird reached out and grabbed that stubborn Librarian by both of his shoulders and shook him gently as she spoke.</p>
<p>"We <em>all</em> make mistakes, Stone!" she answered. "Flynn has made mistakes, Ezekiel has made mistakes, Cassandra has made mistakes, <em>Jenkins</em> has made mistakes! <em>I've</em> made mistakes. I've made mistakes that have literally cost men their lives! Their <em>lives</em>, Jake! But I can't beat myself up over them or let my mistakes hold me back—and neither can you." She lowered her head and stared intently into his eyes.</p>
<p>"Remember early on, just after you guys got to the Library? That time Jenkins was trying to teach all of you how to [do something magical that failed]? What did he say to you after that?"</p>
<p>"He said…he said that you have a choice when you make a mistake," Jacob said grudgingly as he remembered the lesson. "Either learn from your mistake and live in wisdom, or refuse to learn from your mistake and let shame cause you to live in ignorance."</p>
<p>"And what was the corollary?" the Guardian prompted. A look of understanding came to Stone's face</p>
<p>"'And if you're able, always <em>correct</em> your mistake'," he recited.</p>
<p>"You correct your mistake," she echoed, a knowing smile coming to her face. Jake's expression became determined and his eyes glittered.</p>
<p>"We rescue Jenkins and take down DOSA!" he growled in renewed determination. "How do we do that?" Eve patted his shoulders and stood back from him.</p>
<p>"We go back to the workroom with the others and we finish putting together a plan!"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. The New DOSA</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jenkins rested his forehead on his clenched fists, still shackled to the table in the DOSA interrogation room after his latest beating. He tried to keep as still as possible in order to avoid the terrible, blinding pain that accompanied any movement. It hurt even to breathe; he guessed that by now he had at least four or five cracked ribs. The left side of his ribcage throbbed agonizingly with each breath he took, and he guessed that one of those ribs was probably broken and puncturing his lung as well. His entire upper body ached, from chest to head, everywhere the soldiers could easily reach with the heavy butts of their rifles. He snorted softly to himself; he had to give these DOSA men credit—they were certainly thorough, and they clearly enjoyed their work.</p>
<p>He heard the door to the small interrogation room open, then the familiar tread of Director Linsky entering and approaching the table. He heard the chair opposite him pulled out, heard Linksy sit down and make himself comfortable. He heard something thud dully as it was dropped onto the table.</p>
<p>"Are you ready to continue our little talk now, Mr. Jenkins?" the snake-like voice asked solicitously from across the table. Jenkins permitted himself a tiny sigh of resignation before carefully raising his battered head.</p>
<p>Linksy gazed placidly at his prisoner. The old man's face was beginning to bruise. Soon he would have deep purple stains spreading from one cheek to the other and around his nose where he'd been struck earlier. He would soon have two ugly black eyes as well. The director could only imagine what the man's chest and ribs looked like now after the vicious beating he'd just taken.</p>
<p>Linsky shook his head in irritation. He had been warned to expect no cooperation from the immortal. No, scratch that—the <em>freak</em>. That's all Jenkins was to Linksy, an aberration, a deviation from the norm. An anomaly. And anomalies were potential sources of danger. That's why the Department of Statistical Anomalies was created in the first place, to find and study these abnormalities and deviations, force them out into the open and disclose their secrets—and then eliminate them. It was not only a matter of national security, it was also simply a matter of keeping such freakish events and objects—and <em>beings</em>—from harming normal people, of keeping them from destroying the <em>normal</em> world. Living a long life naturally was one thing, but <em>this</em>…! Fifteen hundred years! Linsky's upper lip curled slightly with disgust as he continued to study Jenkins. <em>This</em> was unnatural, <em>this</em> was…<em>wrong</em>.</p>
<p>The bureaucrat continued to stare wordlessly at Jenkins. Linsky had watched most of the beatings from the observation room; he knew how much damage his "assistants" were doing, and yet he had refused to call them off. The old man couldn't actually <em>die</em>, after all. And frankly, Linksy wanted to hear the freak beg for mercy, but Jenkins had stubbornly refused to so much as cry out with the pain he must have been experiencing. Even after his threat to the mathematician, the infuriating old fool still refused to talk.</p>
<p>His stubbornness incensed Linsky; he wasn't used to having his new-found authority challenged like this. And this <em>was</em> a challenge, that much was crystal clear to Linsky. This freak of nature immortal was intentionally defying him, smugly mocking the director and his authority every time he refused to answer even the simplest of questions. Linsky wished that the hate he felt for this freak could manifest itself physically so that he could teach the miserable creature a lesson! Linsky hadn't spent all those years working his way up through the ranks, patiently waiting, volunteering for the worst assignments, doing far more than required of him—far more than any of the <em>other</em> agents would do—sacrificing and diligently plodding along, waiting waiting <em>waiting</em> for the opportunity to take the helm of DOSA one day—he had worked too long and hard just to let some mutant make a fool of him! When that idiot, Rockwell, failed so stunningly with the Library mission and the Pentagon had offered him this assignment in her place, Linsky had gleefully seized his long-awaited opportunity. He would show them, he would show Rockwell—he would show <em>all</em> of them that he had what it took to run an organization like DOSA.</p>
<p>Now here was this…<em>thing</em>, Jenkins, sitting there in that chair, staring back at Linsky with those dead, cold eyes filled with hate and…and…<em>contempt</em>. Yes! That was it, contempt! This freak had to gall to feel contempt for Linsky, for DOSA, even for the authority of the United States Government itself, instead of the respect due to Linsky and what he represented! The pallid bureaucrat narrowed his eyes and smirked as he leaned forward in his chair. Well, let the freak stare! Linsky had been gleefully keeping an ace up his sleeve all this time, patiently waiting for the right time to play it. A time like now.</p>
<p>"I know why you refuse to cooperate," the director said amiably, his eyes never leaving the battered immortal's face. "You think that you're protecting the Library and the Librarians from 'the evil US Government'." Linksy sketched air quotes as he spoke.</p>
<p>"But I think you might be laboring under a misperception," he continued, a frown of false worry carefully etching lines into the man's face. "My DOSA is a <em>new</em> DOSA, you see, and it isn't out to destroy the Library or the Librarians!" Jenkins snorted softly, a small shower of thickening blood spraying from his nose and staining his shirtfront. Linsky shook his head, clucking sympathetically.</p>
<p>"Aw, but you see? That's exactly what I'm talking about!" he said. "We really <em>do</em> have the best interests of everyone involved at heart—the government, the nation, the Library, the entire world—and <em>you're</em> standing in our way!" Linksy laid his arms on the table in front of him and leaned in even closer.</p>
<p>"I'm going to share a little secret with you, Mr. Jenkins. You see, we've been collecting relics—what you call 'artifacts'—for many years now, all the way back to the days just before World War Two. As you may already know, Hitler and the Nazis scoured the world for supernatural and paranormal relics, especially those associated with the Holy Grail and the Knights of the Round Table. The Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler set up a special branch of the SS, known as the Ahnenerbe, to find, authenticate, study and store these relics." Linsky paused, but there was not so much as a flicker of a reaction from the freak sitting across from him. No matter; his time was fast approaching.</p>
<p>"When Berlin fell, American OSS agents—the Office of Strategic Services? Precursors to the current CIA?—OSS agents were able to infiltrate what was left of SS headquarters and breach their storage vaults. The contents were seized and smuggled out of Berlin and then Germany, just before the Soviet Army took over. Long story short—DOSA inherited has those treasures when the department was formed several years ago. We've been careful to keep them safely locked away out of the reach of those who would use them for…<em>evil</em> purposes."</p>
<p>The Director was pleased to see a glint of something like resentment in the one decent eye of the immortal. Jenkins did, indeed, know all about the Ahnenerbe vaults and the Nazis' obsession with finding and hoarding any artifacts that they thought would not only make them invincible in war, but would also prove them to be the "master race". Most of the so-called artifacts had been nothing more than harmless fakes, but the Nazis had managed to uncover a few true artifacts—and very dangerous ones at that. The Librarian at the time, one of the finest men Jenkins had ever known, had tragically been killed in the closing days of the war, had sacrificed his life trying to find and bring those artifacts to the safety of the Library before the Nazis could smuggle them out of Berlin ahead of the Russian invasion. The disappearance of the artifacts had always been a source of frustration for Judson; he was probably spinning in his proverbial grave right now after learning that they had been sitting in a government storage vault somewhere in the United States all these years, and were now in the hands of an insufferable ass like Linksy. The Caretaker glared at the ridiculous man, but said nothing.</p>
<p>"A great deal of what was in the Ahnenerbe vault was textual in nature," the director continued breezily. "Scrolls, parchments, books." His eyes suddenly took on an almost feral appearance that sent a warning chill through Jenkins's body, and the Caretaker's guard went up.</p>
<p>"Like <em>this</em> book, for example." Linksy leaned over and lifted a large book onto the table. From what Jenkins could see of it, it was several hundred years old, parchment pages bound in cracking goatskin the color of dried blood.</p>
<p>"This is an absolutely <em>fascinating</em> book!" said Linsky enthusiastically, patting the tome's cover. "It's the private journal of an Englishman named Matthew Hopkins."</p>
<p>Linsky nearly burst into peals of triumphant laughter at the look of astonishment that came over the freak's face. This was going to be even more enjoyable than he had anticipated!</p>
<p>"It's a record of his time as England's so-called Witchfinder General," the DOSA man continued cheerfully. "He lists some of his most interesting cases and talks about them in quite some depth. Of course, most of the 'witches' he found were harmless old women, or men who had been accused of witchcraft as a means of revenge or because of a land dispute." Linsky opened the book's cover and began to idly flip through the pages.</p>
<p>"But there was one particular case he talks about in this book that I found to be absolutely <em>spellbinding</em>, if you'll pardon the pun!" Oh, how satisfying it was to see this freak of nature literally turn green and look as if he was about to vomit! Linsky turned the book to the case he was talking about.</p>
<p>"See? It's right here!" Linsky turned the book around so that Jenkins could see it and pointed out the page. "He tells the story about a man—by the name of Jenckyns, oddly enough—accused of witchcraft by some people. With their help, Hopkins was able to capture the witch, but of course he refused to confess." Linsky paused and cocked his head, as if in thought.</p>
<p>"Rather like you're doing right now, actually!" he observed, then shrugged his shoulders and went back to the book. "So, naturally, Hopkins was forced to use admittedly harsh tactics in an effort to get a confession from the offender." He looked up and into the wary brown eyes of the old man, frozen on his seat. Linsky smiled, proud of his handiwork so far.</p>
<p>"But, much to his surprise, no matter what sorts of tortures he used on the poor creature, the witch simply did not die!" he continued, as if completely amazed by the tale's turn of events. "In fact, many of his injuries were actually found to be in the process of <em>healing</em> when the time came to resume interrogating him! So Hopkins decided to try some experiments." Linsky pulled the book away from Jenkins and turned it around so that the director could see it.</p>
<p>"I won't go into a lot of detail about those; suffice it to say that many of them involved—how shall I put it?—sexually deviant behaviors, designed especially to belittle and humiliate the stubborn old fool." Linksy lowered his head so that he looked into the one working eye of the man across from him, saw that it was glued to the book between them. Linsky noticed that the large shackled hands were again tightly clenched and trembling ever so slightly.</p>
<p>"And through these experiments, Hopkins was astonished to realize that this particular witch was somehow <em>immortal</em>!" he stage whispered, as if sharing a precious secret. "He <em>couldn't</em> be killed, no matter what Hopkins and his men did to him—isn't that <em>fascinating</em>?" The dark eye glanced up to stare at Linksy, but rather than defiance and contempt, Linsky now saw fear and shame. He smiled like a contented, well-fed cat playing with an unfortunate mouse it had caught.</p>
<p>"But <em>still</em> this witch refused to talk—can you imagine? Suffering that much torment and humiliation and still refusing to speak? It's almost beyond my comprehension!" oozed Linsky. "So Hopkins decided to try something different." He leaned in as far he could possible go without having to get up out of his seat.</p>
<p>"Would you like to know what that was, Mr. Jenkins?" the director continued to stage whisper. He waited a few seconds, but Jenkins said nothing. "Yes? No?" Linsky shrugged and leaned back into his chair. He looked closely at the old man. What color was left had now drained from his beaten face, making the cuts and bruises stand out even more starkly. Linsky thought he could detect just the faintest bit of perspiration beginning to dampen the immortal's hairline. Jenkins's breathing was almost nonexistent as he stared at the antique book, still open on the table.</p>
<p>Linsky was delighted; this aberrant thing obviously knew where all of this was going, and the director was thrilled. He remained silent for several more seconds, basking in the waves of panic and terror that he could almost physically feel coming off of his prisoner. Finally, Linsky made a show of checking the time, stretching his left arm out and bending it to bring his watch in front of his face.</p>
<p>"Your wife has missed her deadline," he said flatly, his voice switching tones to one of animosity and not-so-veiled threat. He lowered his arm and gazed with dead, fishlike eyes at the freak. He almost shuddered at the thought of a normal human woman actually having sexual congress with a deviant like this, but then he remembered that the Librarians and their Guardian were deviants themselves, just in different ways. They, at least, were still normal human beings, though; they could possibly be rehabilitated, but <em>this</em> one...</p>
<p>He reached out and slammed the book closed, pushed it over to one end of the table. Linsky then leaned over to the side. When he straightened up again, he held a small animal carrier in his hand, covered by a white cloth. He set it gently on the table and leaned back in his chair again. From inside the carrier came the sounds of scratching claws and soft squeaks.</p>
<p>The effect on Jenkins was instantaneous. He barely felt the pain of his damaged ribs as he tried to throw himself back from the table, but his shackled hands held him bound to it, mere inches from the covered cage. He stared wildly at it with his one eye, a cry cut short in his throat as memories of excruciating, brutal torture from centuries ago engulfed his brain and blocked out everything else. All he could see or hear now was the cage on the table and the unseen but familiar horror it held. Linsky stood up and moved slowly around the table, reaching into his pocket as he walked, pulled out a small but sharp penknife and opened it.</p>
<p>"It's time to hurry your pretty little wife along," murmured Linsky quietly. "Apparently, she didn't take my invitation seriously. So now it's time to convince her of my sincerity!" He grabbed Jenkins's left shirtsleeve and slit it with the knife enough to allow him to rip it open, exposing Jenkins's bare arm. He was taken aback momentarily by the long, ugly scar that ran along the top of the immortal's forearm, the result of Jenkins's encounter with Hopkins several centuries earlier. Linsky burst into harsh, barking laughter that Jenkins didn't hear.</p>
<p>"Exactly as he described it in his book!" cried Linsky gleefully. Cackling at his good fortune, Linsky moved to Jenkins's right arm and cut its shirtsleeve open. He smiled grimly in satisfaction at the unmarred skin. Jenkins, vaguely aware that something was happening, slowly turned his head and stared at his right arm, then slowly turned his gaze up to the man standing over him, almost leering as he glared down at the terrified old man.</p>
<p>"Please!" Jenkins whispered, barely able to get the word out of his mouth. "Please! No!" Linsky grinned, then his free hand shot out and seized Jenkins's forearm at the wrist, just behind the cuff of the shackle. Jenkins saw the flash of the knife's blade as his captor brought it forward. In his mind's eye, he saw the flash of another knife, hundreds of years ago, and he realized what Linsky was getting ready to do</p>
<p>"No! No! No! No! No!" Jenkins repeated again and again, softly at first, but quickly growing louder and more desperate as fear turned to raw panic. "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!"</p>
<p>Linsky sliced into the top of Jenkins's forearm. For a moment, nothing happened, but then blood rushed to fill the wound and spill over its edges, running over the side of the immortal's arm and dripping onto the tabletop. Jenkins gaped at it in shock, his mind completely blank, wiped clean by fresh terror that bordered dangerously on hysteria. His overloaded brain could formulate only one word: No.</p>
<p>Linsky dropped the knife onto the table as he walked back to his side of the table. Jenkins saw the movement and he fearfully followed Linsky with his one decent eye. His entire body was shaking now, and the director thought he could see tears welling up in the old man's eye. Linsky reached over and dragged the cage across the table so that it sat directly in front of the whimpering immortal. After taking a moment to savor his victory, Linsky reached out a lazy hand and, without warning, jerked the covering from off of the cage.</p>
<p>Inside, snuffling obliviously around its enclosure, was a large, gray Norwegian rat. As soon as the cloth was removed, it rushed to the cage's door and stood up on its hind legs, peered through the bars of the cage at the large human staring back it.</p>
<p>Linsky reached around to the front of the cage and unlatched it. The rat pushed the door open and clambered out of the cage onto the tabletop.</p>
<p>Jenkins opened his mouth and screamed.</p><hr/>
<p>Director Linsky stepped through the door from the interrogation room and into the observation room, running his hands over his head to smooth his lank, black hair. Before the door closed, bloodcurdling screams could be heard coming from within the interrogation room, punctuated by sobbed pleas for mercy.</p>
<p>"Did you get all of that, Soori?" asked Linsky blandly, turning his attention now to his suit. Sargent Soori, his face drained of all color after witnessing Linsky's "interrogation" of their captive through the two-way window, turned to face his superior.</p>
<p>"Y-yes, sir!" he answered faintly.</p>
<p>"Good," answered Linsky. "Send the video right away to the phone number I gave you. I'm going to get a cup of coffee—you want anything?" Soori, feeling sick as Jenkins's screams continued to ring in his ears, shook his head, and Linsky headed for the exit.</p>
<p>"Sir?!" Soori almost shouted. Linsky turned around, his hand on the doorknob.</p>
<p>"What is it, Soori?" he sighed impatiently. "Make it snappy; I haven't had any coffee yet today, and I'm starting to get a caffeine headache!" The other man's eyes darted in the direction of the interrogation room.</p>
<p>"Wh-what about…<em>him</em>?" he asked quickly. "You're not going to just leave him in there? Like <em>that</em>?" Linsky snorted softly, one corner of his mouth going up into a lopsided smile.</p>
<p>"I'll only be gone for a few minutes, Soori; he'll be fine," he replied, his voice dismissive. "It's not like he can actually <em>die</em> or anything anyway!" Linsky pulled open the door. "Send that video, Soori. Now!"</p>
<p>He headed for the breakroom for his cup of coffee, smiling and humming as he walked.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. The Hunt is On</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eve Baird peered through the binoculars, sweeping them slowly along the length of the high chain-link fence that marked off the grounds of the DOSA warehouse facility.  Coils of new razor wire topped the fence, glinting cheerfully in the early afternoon sunlight.  Two men wearing nondescript security guard uniforms and mirrored aviator-style sunglasses walked slowly along the inside of the fence line, a large German Shepherd dog on a leash walking ahead of them.<br/> <br/>“There’re the guards again,” she commented, keeping her voice low, even though she and Jacob Stone were well-hidden by a line of trees and scraggly bushes over a hundred yards away, at the edge of the parking lot of an abandoned convenience store. <br/> <br/>“Yep, the same ones as before,” confirmed Jake next to her, peering through his own set of binoculars.  He lowered the glasses and looked at his watch.  “Looks like they do perimeter patrol every forty-five minutes.”  He picked up his binoculars and looked through them again, this time training them on the entrance to the facility.<br/> <br/>“I only see two men in the gatehouse.”  He moved the binoculars to look over the entire building and the grounds immediately surrounding it, then dropped them and looked over at Eve.  “Except for the razor-wire, it looks just like any other portside warehouse.  You sure those are government men?”  Baird nodded.<br/> <br/>“Oh, yeah,” she said confidently.  “They’re dressed as rent-a-cops, but the way they walk their patrols and work the gate, the way they handle that dog—it all tells me they’re military-trained.”  She lowered her binoculars, her brow furrowing in thought.<br/> <br/>“They’re trying to make everything look as non-top-secret-government-facility as possible, so they’re keeping things as low-key as possible; minimum amount of visible personnel, no big government-marked trucks coming and going, no long guns.”  She turned to Stone.<br/> <br/>“I wouldn’t be surprised if the only thing they’re keeping in this facility right now is Jenkins,” she said reflectively.  “They brought him here because it’s close and it’s secure and it belongs to DOSA.  But Rockwell said that they probably won’t keep him here for very long, they’ll want to move him to a more remote location just as soon as the arrangements can be made.”<br/> <br/>“You mean someplace like Area 51?” the Librarian breathed, almost excited by the prospect.  “It’s the closest maximum-security facility that’s equipped to handle this kind of thing.”<br/> <br/>“Maybe,” replied Eve.  “But who knows how many top-secret research facilities there are?  And there’s no guarantee that they’ll keep him inside the United States, either—they could ship him to Guantanamo Bay or someplace else outside the country.”  To her surprise, Jake shook his head.<br/> <br/>“Nah, I don’t think so,” he said.  “I think they’d want to keep ‘im close.  If they send him outside the US, there’s a greater chance of losin’ control of ‘im.”  He glanced over again at Eve and was struck by the look of anxiety on her face. <br/> <br/>“Eve?  What’s wrong?”  She turned and met his worried gaze.<br/> <br/>“We have to get Jenkins out of there before they move him, Jake,” she said, casting a glance behind them to make sure they were still alone.  “We can’t let DOSA move him anywhere.  If they do, we may never find him again!”  Stone reached over and lightly punched her shoulder reassuringly.<br/> <br/>“Hey, don’t worry,” he said.  “Even if they move him to Area 51, we’ll still be able to find him and get him out!  The Library has...”<br/> <br/>“No, Jacob—you don’t understand!” Eve cut in, her blue eyes dark with urgency.  A feeling of dread filled the Stone’s gut.<br/> <br/>“Why?” he asked, staring at her.  “What aren’t you tellin’ me?”  Baird looked behind them once more, then leaned over to him slightly.<br/> <br/>“When we get back to the Annex, do not mention this to the others, especially Cassandra,” she ordered him tersely.  “I told you all what Rockwell told me—except for one thing.”  She paused, not sure how to soften the blow of what she had to tell him now. <br/> <br/>“Rockwell told me that after DOSA has extracted all of the information Jenkins has, after they’ve taken all of the DNA and tissue samples they want—“  The feeling of dread in Stone’s stomach became almost unbearable at the anguished look on the Guardian’s face.  Eve dropped her eyes.<br/> <br/>“She said they’re planning on—cutting him open…” she forced herself to say, her voice catching in her throat.  She raised her eyes.  “They want to perform a vivisection on him!”  Jake’s jaw dropped in shock.<br/> <br/>“Vivisection?” he repeated faintly.  “But…Jenkins is immortal!  Vivisection would…”<br/> <br/>“Would go on forever,” finished Eve, dropping her head as she fought back her emotions.  She quickly raised her head again, fixing the historian with a fierce look.<br/> <br/>“And I’ll be damned before I let that happen!”  Jake reached out and squeezed her upper arm tightly.<br/> <br/>“Right beside ya!” he answered, forcing a grim smile to his face.  “Let’s get back to the Annex.”<br/> <br/>The two spies backed away from the treeline, then turned and hurried back to the disused store where the doorway back to the Annex was located.  As soon as they were safely away, a shadow dropped from the tree underneath which they had concealed themselves and landed lightly on the ground.  Estrella looked after the retreating Librarian and Guardian and frowned, her brow furrowing in thought for a few seconds.  She then turned toward the Back Door and disappeared, as if into thin air, leaving only a faint wisp of glittering smoke in her wake as she rushed to reach the Annex before Eve and Jacob.<br/> </p><hr/><p><br/>Cassandra stalked back and forth across the width of the workroom, anxiously waiting for word to come back from the warehouse.  Eve had forbidden everyone except Jacob to accompany her on their reconnaissance mission, saying that a recon team needed to be fast and mobile.  Eve instructed Ezekiel to go to the lab and go over the facility’s blueprints again with a fine-toothed comb to see if he could find any weaknesses in the building’s defenses that could be exploited.  The Guardian ordered Cassandra and Estrella to stay put, just in case there was further contact from DOSA.  As soon as Eve and Jake disappeared through the magic door, however, Estrella gave the redheaded Librarian a conspiratorial smile.<br/> <br/>“I am not a Librarian; I am not subject to the Guardian’s orders!” she said pointedly, then dashed through the portal just as the doors closed before Cassandra could say a word or try to stop her.<br/> <br/>Now, almost two hours later, the Back Door glowed and the mechanism housed inside of the globe next to it began to spin.  Cassandra stopped pacing and turned to worriedly face the double-doors as they swung open.  To her relief, Estrella tripped lightly through them, and the Librarian hurried to meet her.<br/> <br/>“Well?” she asked eagerly.  “Did you see anything?  Did you see any sign of Jenkins?”  Estrella only glanced into her worried blue eyes, but it was enough to tell Cassandra that something was wrong—very wrong.<br/> <br/>“What?” she asked the vampire in alarm.  “What is it?  What did you see?”<br/> <br/>“It’s not so much what I saw as what I heard,” answered Estrella evasively.  Cassandra felt her heart lurch within her chest.<br/> <br/>“What...what did you hear?” she asked softly.  Before Estrella could answer, the Back door whirred to life again.  The vampire grabbed Cassandra’s hand and dragged her over to one end of the long table in the middle of the workroom and practically threw the Librarian into a chair.  Estrella quickly pulled another chair next to Cassandra’s and dropped into it.<br/> <br/>“Pretend that we’ve been here talking the whole time!” she hissed as the double-doors swung open again to allow Jake and Eve back into the Annex.  Cassandra instantly jumped up from her chair and ran over to them.<br/> <br/>“Eve!  Jacob!” she called out excitedly.  “Did you see Jenkins?”  Her face fell as soon as she saw the somber looks on theirs.  “I guess the answer is ‘no’, then.”  Eve reached out to lay her hand on the younger woman’s shoulder.<br/> <br/>“No, we didn’t see him,” she said kindly.  “I didn’t really expect to, either.  We only scouted the outside of the warehouse, and I’m sure they’ve got him locked up in one of those interrogation rooms.”  She dropped her hand and walked over to the table, unslinging the binoculars from around her neck as she went.<br/> <br/>“But, at least now that we’ve gotten the lay of the land firsthand, we can start putting together an extraction plan.  Where’s Jones?”<br/> <br/>“He’s still in the lab, I think,” said Cassandra. <br/> <br/>“Anything more from DOSA?” asked Stone, setting his binoculars on the table next to Eve’s.  Cassandra shook her head.<br/> <br/>“No, nothing,” she replied.  “And it’s way past the deadline they gave us.  Shouldn’t we have heard something from them by now?”  Jake rubbed his chin as he thought.<br/> <br/>“Maybe,” he murmured.  He seemed distracted by something.  “They coulda just been bluffin’, too.  Hard to tell.”<br/> <br/>“Let’s go see what the world’s greatest thief has come up with,” said Eve, heading in the direction of the lab.  “Hopefully he’s found something we can use!”  Jake grunted and followed the Guardian out of the workroom. Cassandra started to follow, too, but Estrella grabbed her arm and pulled her gently back.<br/> <br/>“Estrella, what’re you doing?” asked the Librarian, puzzled.  Estrella put her finger to her lips, warning her friend to be quiet.  When she was satisfied that the Librarian and the Guardian were out of earshot, she led Cassandra back to the chairs at the end of the table and sat her down.<br/> <br/>“While I was doing some reconnaissance of my own, I overheard the Guardian say something to the Librarian, hermana,” she said in a low voice.  “About Jenkins.  I think you should know about it.”  Cassandra’s entire body stiffened at the grave tone of her friend’s voice.  Whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t anything good.<br/> <br/>“What?” she whispered fearfully.  Estrella squirmed in her chair as she tried to find just the right words.<br/> <br/>“The Guardian has apparently spoken with someone who belongs to this DOSA organization,” she began, and Cassandra nodded.<br/> <br/>“Yes, to General Rockwell,” she confirmed.  “She used to be in charge of DOSA.  She’s the one who told us we could find Jenkins in the warehouse.”  Estrella gave a nod of her dark head.<br/> <br/>“Yes, well—she also seems to have told Colonel Baird what DOSA has planned for Jenkins,” she continued solemnly.  “The place where they are holding him now is only temporary.  They will probably move him to another place soon, someplace that is more secure and harder to get into.”  Cassandra nodded her head again.<br/> <br/>“Yeah, Eve told us all about that,” she said, both relieved and disappointed that her friend hadn’t learned any new information. <br/> <br/>“Did she also tell you what exactly DOSA was going to do to him?” Estrella asked carefully.  The confused, alarmed look that swept Cassandra’s face told the vampire that Eve had not mentioned any of that.<br/> <br/>“Of course!  They’re going to interrogate him and take samples of his DNA,” she answered, puzzled.  “Why?  What’s going on?”<br/> <br/>“Did she tell you what they are going to do with him when they are finished with all of the interrogations and sampling?” <br/> <br/>“No,” replied the Librarian warily, quickly becoming frightened.  “Estrella, what did Eve say just now?”  Estrella took her friend’s hands in hers and looked into her apprehensive blue eyes.<br/> <br/>“They are going to interrogate him,” she said gently.  “They are going to get as much information from him as possible.  Probably information about all of the history he has witnessed.”  Cassandra only nodded feebly.  Her gut told her there was more.<br/> <br/>“She said that they are also planning to take his DNA, and samples.  Blood samples, tissue samples,” Estrella went on.  “My guess is so that they can study them and try to find out what exactly makes him immortal, so that they can try to create their own immortals.”  Cassandra stared at her, but still said nothing.  Estrella took a breath.<br/> <br/>“She said...when they are done with all of that, they will...”  The vampire paused a moment, unwilling to even speak aloud the awful word. <br/> <br/>“They are going to perform a vivisection on him,” she finally said.  Cassandra stared blankly at Estrella, unsure that she had heard her correctly.<br/> <br/>“A...a what?” she whispered.  Estrella squeezed her hands tightly.<br/> <br/>“A vivisection,” she repeated, her black eyes filling with tears of sympathy and horror.  Cassandra’s mouth fell open as the full meaning of the word sank into her consciousness.<br/> <br/>“No!” she whispered hoarsely, shaking her head in denial.  “NO!”  She dropped her head, at the same time pulling her hands free and using them to cover her face.<br/> <br/>“No!  No!  No!  No!” she cried.  “They can’t do that!  They can’t do that, Estrella!  No!” <br/> <br/>Cassandra stood up from her chair and took several unsteady steps across the wooden floor of the workroom, vigorously shaking her head as she tried to dislodge the terrifying images of her husband, strapped down onto a table, his body cruelly cut open as cold, heartless scientists performed inhuman experiments on him—all while Jenkins still lived and probably fully conscious, while he could feel every excruciating second of every single procedure.  She could almost hear his screams of agony ringing in her ears. <br/> <br/>A sob escaped her, and Estrella jumped up from her chair to hurry over and comfort her friend, but Cassandra couldn’t even feel the arms encircling her.  How could they do this to Jenkins?  How could these animals do something so barbaric to her good, kind, gentle knight?  How were they even allowed to do something like this to another human being, immortal or not?  It was inconceivable, inconceivable!  It was unfathomable, it was...wrong!  It was evil!<br/> <br/>Cassandra felt something shift inside of her, almost as if a switch had been flipped somewhere deep inside of her soul.  Her grief instantly hardened into anger, her disbelief turned into resolve.  She stopped crying and straightened her back, turned to face Estrella.  The vampire, sensing a shift in her friend, backed away a couple of steps from the Librarian, stunned to see a look of sheer hatred on the pale, tear-stained face, the blue eyes burning with fury.<br/> <br/>“Cassandra?” Estrella whispered, taking a step back towards the Librarian.  “Are you all right?”  Cassandra raised her head.<br/> <br/>“I’m fine,” she answered, her voice cold and steely.  Before she could say anything more, her phone, still lying on the table, dinged to let her know a text had arrived.  It dinged a second time as she ran over to the table and picked it up. <br/> <br/>“It’s another text from Linsky,” she said shortly.  Estrella rushed to her side and peered at the phone screen.<br/> <br/>“’You missed your deadline, Mrs. Jenkins’,” the vampire read, a feeling of foreboding filling her.  “What does the other text say?”  Cassandra opened the message.  It contained a video, and she quickly clicked on it.<br/> <br/>The two women watched the video in silence, and Estrella’s eyes widened in dismay.  She glanced at Cassandra and saw that her already wan face had blanched to the shade of sun-bleached bone.  But instead of tears or cries of shock or horror, the Librarian’s face was like marble as she stared at the images playing out on the small screen.  Estrella no longer sensed the vulnerability or desperation from her friend that she had sensed when Cassandra came to her in South Carolina just a few hours ago.  Now she sensed something else entirely radiating from the Librarian—something deep-seated and raw, almost primeval, something that Estrella could only describe as power.  A thin thread of genuine fear twisted itself up the vampire’s spine for the first time in centuries.<br/> <br/>“Cassandra?” she said softly, her hand hesitantly reaching out to barely touch the redheaded woman.  Cassandra calmly turned off her phone and slid it into the pocket of her short checkered skirt.  She turned her head slowly to look at Estrella, Cassandra’s blue eyes icy with rage.<br/> <br/>“I’m going to go and get him, Estrella,” she said quietly, her voice steady and unwavering. <br/> <br/>“I’ll go and call the others...” Estrella began, but Cassandra cut her off.<br/> <br/>“No.  I’m going to go and get him now,” she repeated, her voice low and eerily calm.  “I’m not going to let them hurt him anymore.  And I’m not waiting on the others; there’s no time to lose.”  She turned and went to the Back Door mechanism to check the location coordinates and then activated it.  Estrella ran to the table and grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil.<br/> <br/>“Cassandra, wait!” she called out as she scrawled a hasty note.  When she was finished she turned and ran over to Cassandra, intentionally dropping the note onto the floor where it could be seen easily.<br/> <br/>“I’m coming with you!” the vampire said, her face determined.  The doors swung open and Cassandra stared, as if hypnotized, at the blue-white light that filled the doorway.  Estrella could still feel the raw, primal fury radiating from the Librarian in almost physical waves.<br/> <br/>“I’m going to get him back, Estrella,” Cassandra repeated, her voice tranquil and detached.  She turned her head to look Estrella squarely in the eyes.  “And I don’t care what I have to do to achieve that!” <br/> <br/>Estrella unflinchingly met her gaze.  Something had changed drastically inside of Cassandra, and while it frightened the vampire, it also filled her with a thrill that she hadn’t felt in a very long time.  It took a moment to recall what the feeling was, exactly, but she suddenly identified it—it was the thrill of a hunt.  She lifted her dark head and smiled in anticipation.<br/> <br/>“And I will help you,” she said excitedly.  “You asked me for my help, and I’m going to give it to you—no matter what we have to do!”  Cassandra’s eyes softened just enough to allow a glint of gratitude to show before she turned back to the waiting portal.  She reached out and took Estrella’s hand tightly into her own.<br/> <br/>“Then let’s go!” </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Go Time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eve Baird marched purposefully down the corridor, her tiny band of Librarians trailing after her like ducklings.</p>
<p>"Okay, let's go over the plan one more time," she called over her shoulder as she walked. "We'll wait for the patrol with the dog to pass the gate. As soon as they're far enough away, Stone, you and I will take out the guards at the gatehouse."</p>
<p>"Check!" barked Jake, hurrying to keep up the Guardian.</p>
<p>"Jones will move in right after the guards are neutralized and hack the lock on the door of the warehouse itself so we can get inside." Eve came to the doorway leading to the workroom and passed through it.</p>
<p>"Cassandra!" she called loudly. "I need for you and Estrella to…" The tall blonde halted in her tracks, nearly causing the others to pile up into her from behind. She turned her head, searching the empty room for the two women. "Cassandra? Estrella?"</p>
<p>No one answered and no one was to be seen. Bewildered and not a little peeved, Baird took several steps further into the workroom. When she didn't see Cassandra or Estrella in the lab, Eve had assumed that Cassandra simply wasn't up to planning the rescue mission, and that Estrella had stayed with her to bolster her courage and reassure the Librarian. Baird now suspected that she'd badly misread Cassandra's mood.</p>
<p>She saw the piece of paper laying in the middle of the floor and hurried over to it, bent over to pick it up. She glanced at it, then did a double-take. She held the sheet of paper in both hands and stared intently at it.</p>
<p>"Oh, <em>SHIT</em>!" she exclaimed, her head and hands dropping in frustration. "<em>Dammit</em>, Cassandra!"</p>
<p>"What's wrong?" Jake demanded, hurrying up to her side. She thrust the paper at him. He took it and held it up to read it aloud.</p>
<p>"<em>Gone to free Jenkins</em>"</p>
<p>"Aw, <em>man</em>!" groaned Jacob. "So much for Plan A!"</p>
<p>"You know, we <em>really</em> need to stop leaving Cassandra and Jenkins alone by themselves whenever one of them is in trouble!" griped Ezekiel dourly.</p>
<p>"So do we have a Plan B now or what?" asked Jake, staring intently at Baird. "<em>Somebody</em> tell me we got a Plan B!" Eve paused, her shoulders dropping for only for a moment before raising them again, her face taking on a look of purpose.</p>
<p>"Jake, get the door!" she ordered. She looked over at Ezekiel.</p>
<p>"I've got only one Plan B now—go get Jenkins before everything goes to hell in a handbasket!" The Back Door hummed to life and the doors swung open. Eve turned to face them, her jaw set.</p>
<p>"Come on!"</p><hr/>
<p>Cassandra and Estrella tripped through the Back Door and into the empty parking lot of the disused convenience store. As the Librarian looked around trying to get her bearings, Estrella gently grabbed her arm and pointed.</p>
<p>"That way!" she said. "The gate that Jacob and Colonel Baird were checking on is that way, just past those trees. It will take us only a few minutes to get there if we run."</p>
<p>"They won't see us? Are there guards here?" asked Cassandra, concerned. She automatically began scanning their immediate area, looking for surveillance cameras or guards.</p>
<p>"No," answered the vampire, shaking her head. "I heard Colonel Baird say that this piece of land is in foreclosure, but it does not belong to the government, at least not yet. So there probably isn't any security yet, either." She started to hurry across the parking lot.</p>
<p>"Follow me!"</p>
<p>"Wait!" Cassandra called out, her eyes wide and desolate. Confused, Estrella stopped and trotted back to the Librarian.</p>
<p>"Why? What's wrong?" she asked. The redhead's face had suddenly gone deathly white and had a strange look, as if she was about to be sick. Alarmed, Estrella put her hand on Cassandra's shoulder. "<em>Hermana</em>! Are you all right?"</p>
<p>Cassandra slowly wrapped both of her arms over her middle, unconsciously hunching over almost double as a nauseating wave of fear slammed into her. Dizzy, she stumbled backward a few steps, moaning as if in pain, and would've fallen had Estrella not been there to catch her and ease her to the cracked pavement.</p>
<p>"Cassandra!" Estrella cried. "What is it? What's happening?!"</p>
<p>The Librarian's gut felt like something alive was both writhing madly inside of her and crushing her chest at the same time. She had trouble catching her breath, and for a moment her mind simply went blank, all coherent thought simply gone. All she could do was <em>feel</em>, and all she could feel now was terror—stark, pure terror, like an animal hopelessly caught in a trap and the hunter was closing in for the kill.</p>
<p>
  <em>Jenkins! </em>
</p>
<p>She realized that, through their Sealing, she was suddenly feeling what her husband was feeling at this moment—emotions so raw and powerful that they reached out of their own accord to her. With a tremendous effort, Cassandra forced herself to calm down by focusing all of her attention on running Zeno's Third Paradox through her mind again and again, until the overwhelming pressure on her chest eased and she began to breathe again, deeply and slowly.</p>
<p>Unbidden, Cassandra again saw the dreadful images from the video Linsky had sent her a few minutes earlier: Jenkins, unable to move, his battered face white as snow, his hands chained to a metal table. In a cage in front of him was a large gray rat, scrabbling to get out. She saw a man in a suit cruelly slice open Jenkins's arm, the blood flowing freely. Jenkins, straining so hard to get away from the caged rat that he didn't even feel the pain of the knife or the pain of the shackles around his wrists as they cut into his skin and caused them to bleed, too. Jenkins—her proud knight—reduced to whimpering in terror like a small child, begging the uncaring DOSA man for mercy. There was a look on Linksy's face that made it clear that he was enjoying the immortal's suffering immensely.</p>
<p>"It's Jenkins!" she breathed, looking up at Estrella with wide eyes full of a mix of worry and anger. "They're torturing him, I can feel it! He's afraid, Estrella, terrified! We have to get him, <em>now</em>, before they hurt him anymore!"</p>
<p>Estrella knew of Jenkins's fear of rats, knew the story of how he had been brutalized by them in the past, and hence the urgency in rescuing him now. But the vampire hesitated, not yet certain that her friend was up to the task. Seeing this, Cassandra forced herself to stand up straight, ignoring the instinctual urge to <em>RUN!</em> that she was feeling from her husband.</p>
<p>"I'm okay now, Estrella," she said, her voice steady and reassuring. "Let's go!"</p>
<p>Together they turned and ran toward the DOSA warehouse.</p><hr/>
<p>Vampire and Librarian were crouched down behind some shrubs, as close as they dared get to the entry gate of the DOSA facility at the moment. The two women stared at the gate and the two men inside the small guardhouse.</p>
<p>"Those aren't soldiers," said Cassandra, puzzled. "The last time I was here, the place was crawling with soldiers! Those are just plain old security guards—are you sure this is the right place?" Estrella snorted softly.</p>
<p>"This is the place, all right," she answered. "I heard Colonel Baird say that these men were soldiers disguised as regular security men. She called them 'rent-a-cops'." She adjusted her position slightly and craned her neck as if in search of something.</p>
<p>"There are men who walk the perimeter, with a dog, every forty-five minutes. I don't see them right now, though. Who knows how far or how close they are to the gate?" Cassandra pressed her lips together as she thought about the situation.</p>
<p>"We can't wait to find out," she finally decided, the unpleasant sensation of Jenkins's fear spurring her on. "God only knows what they're doing to Jenkins right now!" Cassandra started to stand, but Estrella's hand on her arm stopped her.</p>
<p>"I understand, <em>hermana</em>," she said quietly. "But we must do this carefully. We won't do Jenkins any good if we end up getting captured ourselves!"</p>
<p>"So what do we do?" asked the Librarian, fixing her sharp blue eyes onto the other woman's dark brown ones. Estrella played with the dirt at their feet with her fingers as she considered the best way to get into the facility.</p>
<p>"How badly do you want to get inside?" she asked. "Because we might have to do some rather…<em>unpleasant</em> things in order to make that happen." Cassandra immediately understood what her friend was asking.</p>
<p>"I want to save Jenkins—nothing else matters!" she answered stonily, her eyes never leaving Estrella's.</p>
<p>"Then, to paraphrase the poet, Robert Frost: The best way in is always through," the vampire said, her voice hard. She continued to gaze levelly at the redhead next to her. "No matter what it takes? Once we begin, there is no going back, <em>hermana</em>." Cassandra nodded slowly, her eyes becoming like ice.</p>
<p>"Absolutely!" she hissed. She could still feel her husband's terror gnawing painfully at her insides like a starving animal, and it served only to fuel the Librarian's desire to get to him as quickly as possible, to rescue him from the pain and the terror. Estrella reached out and gripped Cassandra's forearm, gave it a tight, quick squeeze.</p>
<p>"Then we simply go through the front gate and take back our own!"</p>
<p>Before Cassandra could respond, Estrella jumped up, and—to the Librarian's astonishment—was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving behind only a few wisps of faintly glittering, gold-tinged smoke.</p>
<p>"Estrella!" gasped the Librarian. She whipped her head back and forth, trying to see where the vampire had gone. A blur caught the corner of her eye, and she turned her head just in time to see Estrella suddenly appear miraculously on the <em>inside</em> of the facility's locked gate.</p>
<p>Cassandra stared, her mouth hanging open, as the two men inside the gatehouse jumped to their feet, startled to see someone seem to appear out of the thin air in front of them. They rushed at her, each man reaching for his sidearm.</p>
<p>In the blink of an eye, Estrella evaporated again. Within a split-second of each other, each man's head snapped viciously to one side at a sharp angle, and both fell to the ground in silent, motionless heaps just outside of the gatehouse. The dark-haired woman reappeared, stepped over the men and turned to where Cassandra was still hiding. She began waving her arm, gesturing urgently for Cassandra come, and quickly.</p>
<p>Recovering herself, the Librarian scrambled to her feet and ran to the gate. Just as she got to it, Estrella grabbed the padlocked chain securing the gate and pulled it apart as easily as if she was tearing a sheet of paper in two. She pulled open one side of the gate and pulled her friend inside.</p>
<p>"Hurry, Cassandra!" she murmured, her black eyes darting around, on the alert for more guards. As soon as the Librarian was inside the gate, Estrella pulled her past the bodies of the two guards and into the gatehouse to hide, ducking down below the windowsill.</p>
<p>"Where do we go from here?" she asked, peering out the window. When Cassandra didn't answer, she turned and saw her staring at the motionless guards just outside the door. "Cassandra?"</p>
<p>"Are they…are they dead?" Cassandra asked, her eyes round with shock. Estrella reached over and gently took hold of the redhead's chin, then turned her head to meet Estrella's gaze.</p>
<p>"Yes," she answered simply, her voice level. "They were reaching for their guns; I had to stop them before they raised an alarm." Cassandra swallowed hard and blinked, a shadow of uncertainty passing over her face. Estrella leaned in closer.</p>
<p>"Remember what they're doing to Jenkins!" she murmured urgently. "There may not be cannons or bombs involved, but make no mistake, <em>hermana</em>: DOSA has declared war on the Library! If they can sink so low as to physically and psychologically torture another human being, then <em>nothing</em> is beyond them. DOSA must be stopped, no matter what it takes! Don't forget that they were going to take <em>you</em> and the others hostage when they invaded the Library the first time. What do you think they were going to do with you back then? With Jenkins?" She turned and pointed at the main warehouse with her chin.</p>
<p>"I'll wager any amount that they were going to torture you, just as they're torturing Jenkins right now—whatever they had to do in order to get what they wanted from you. How much longer would it be before they came to South Carolina, hunting my kind? So I have no qualms about doing whatever I have to do in order to stop them!" As Estrella spoke, images from the video flashed again through Cassandra's mind, Jenkins's screams for mercy shoring up her resolve.</p>
<p>"You're right," she answered brusquely, her resolve hardening again. She'd been so focused on Jenkins and getting him away from here that she hadn't even thought of others, like Estrella, who would be of great interest to an organization like DOSA: The stakes were <em>much</em> higher than Cassandra had thought. As Eve liked to tell them, failure was not an option now. Taking a determined breath, Cassandra turned her head and quickly scanned the side of the warehouse that faced them. Her eyes narrowed the moment she spied a familiar feature on the building.</p>
<p>"There!" she said, directing Estrella's gaze to a set of doors located inside a garage-like area of the building and just visible to the women from their hiding place. "That's how we got inside last time!"</p>
<p>"Good," said Estrella, smiling grimly. Agile as a cat, she hopped over the two men partially blocking the doorway, then turned and began to rifle through the clothes of the man closest to her. In a few seconds, she grunted and triumphantly held up a plastic card: The guard's electronic keycard. Estrella's eyes glowed fiercely.</p>
<p>"Come, <em>hermana</em>! Time to go get your husband!"</p><hr/>
<p>A soft knocking sounded on the door that led into the observation room from the interrogation room. Linsky turned impatiently to face the door.</p>
<p>"Yes?!" he called out, irritated that his "fun" was being spoiled by the interruption. "What is it, Soori?" The door opened hesitantly, and the tall, nervous soldier poked his sandy head into the room. He forced himself to not look at the badly-beaten old man chained to the steel table.</p>
<p>"The perimeter alarm has sounded, sir; we have intruders," he nervously informed his superior. "Two women. It looks like they've killed the guards at the gate."</p>
<p>"Two <em>women</em>?" snapped Linsky, momentarily forgetting the immortal. "A blonde and a redhead?" Soori shook his head quickly.</p>
<p>"No, sir. A redhead and one with black hair."</p>
<p>"<em>Black</em> hair?" mused the director. In his mind he went through all of the personnel dossiers he had for everyone connected with the Library, but he couldn't recall anyone with black hair, except for the thief, Ezekiel Jones. But then, their intelligence was over two years old, so it was conceivable that the Library had recruited new agents. Linsky muttered a curse to himself at the Pentagon's short-sightedness in refusing to grant its approval for more up to date information gathering. How can they expect him to do his job without proper intel? Linsky drew in a deep, calming breath; no matter, he told himself. He would show them. He would show those pompous jackasses what exactly he could accomplish with the little information and resources he had. He looked up at Soori again. "Is anyone else with them?"</p>
<p>"No, sir, not that I can see on the cameras," answered the assistant. Linsky snorted and waved the man off.</p>
<p>"Very well, Soori; you know what to do. Let them come, but don't make it so easy for them that they become suspicious," he instructed. Soori nodded quickly.</p>
<p>"Yes, sir!" he said and gratefully pulled his head out of the room, shutting the door against the awful scene in the interrogation room. Linsky turned his attention back to Jenkins. He bent over so that his lips were right next to the old man's ear.</p>
<p>"Who is the woman with black hair?" he demanded. "Is she a new Librarian?"</p>
<p>Jenkins remained hunched over, his head pounding, barely able to breathe. Despite the pain, he'd heard Soori, and his heart filled with fear for Cassandra as he immediately forgot about the rat in front of him. The redhead could only be Cassandra, but what was she trying to do, coming here like this? As for the black-haired woman…</p>
<p>The immortal suddenly grunted softly as an idea struck him: Estrella! It must be Estrella, the vampire—Cassandra and the others must have enlisted her aid! Groaning, Jenkins shook his head, dismayed at the idea that the Librarians had brought an outsider into this mess. If DOSA captured Estrella, a <em>vampire</em>—he shuddered involuntarily at the horrible images that ran through his mind. They would torture Estrella, just as they were doing to him now, they would use her until she was no longer of any use, and then they would kill her. They would torture and kill <em>both</em> women.</p>
<p>"And your pretty little wife decided to come after all!" purred Linsky suddenly. Jenkins flinched at the sound of his tormentor's voice. "Well, better late than never, right?" Linsky moved around to the opposite side of the table so that he could better see Jenkins's face. He sat down in the chair and made himself comfortable. The rat wandered aimlessly across the tabletop, stopping occasionally to sniff at some invisible thing; so far it had shown no interest in Jenkins, but he knew that wouldn't last long.</p>
<p>"You're in quite a pickle now, aren't you?" he asked conversationally. Jenkins raised his throbbing head just enough to allow him to glare at the smug man across the table. Linsky laughed.</p>
<p>"That's the spirit!" he encouraged the immortal. "Keep fighting to the bitter end! Oh…!" An exaggerated look of perplexity now fell over the director's bland face.</p>
<p>"But…if you keep fighting me, if you keep refusing to answer my questions and cooperate with me…" He cocked his head and fixed his eyes on Jenkins. "Then I may be forced to do something most…<em>unpleasant</em> to your pretty little wife." He stood up and walked slowly around the table to Jenkins's side again.</p>
<p>"Though I don't think I'll sell her into the sex trade after all," he continued, his tone going from amiable to frightening in a split-second. He bent low to place his mouth next to Jenkins's ear again.</p>
<p>"I think I'll keep her for myself!" he whispered, and moved his lips closer until they barely touched the rim of Jenkins's ear. "Such <em>fun</em> she and I will have together—again and again and <em>again</em>…!"</p>
<p>Jenkins froze for only a second before rage welled up within and blinded him. With a hoarse shriek, he turned his head and head-butted Linksy as hard as he possibly could. He felt more than he heard the cartilage crunch as his forehead made contact with Linsky's nose. The director shouted and jumped back from the immortal, holding his hand to his face as blood began to run from his damaged nose, his pale brown eyes blazing with fury. Linsky lowered his hand and saw the blood stain, then looked down into the triumphant stare coming from Jenkins's one eye.</p>
<p>"You…<em>FREAK</em>!" Linsky spat. "<em>I'll teach you</em>…!" He rushed to the table and grabbed the rat. Frightened by the sudden movement, it began to squeal loudly and squirm frantically as it tried to escape. Linsky turned and held the wildly wriggling animal directly in front of Jenkins's face, so closely that the immortal could feel the creature's whiskers and tiny claws brush the apple of his cheek.</p>
<p>Jenkins gasped, then cried out as he violently jerked his body away from the squeaking rat. Linsky kept it directly in front of the whimpering man's face as he leaned forward, Linsky's eyes wild and feverish-looking.</p>
<p>"You have a choice to make now, freak!" he hissed, his spittle landing on Jenkins's cheeks as he spoke, his lips twisting into a leering grin.</p>
<p>"Either you tell me how to get into the Library <em>right now</em>, or I'll turn this rat—and its dozen or so little friends I have waiting in the wings—loose on you! I'll let them strip the flesh off of your bones, and then I'll let them gnaw on <em>those</em> at their leisure while you watch them!" Linsky leaned in even further until his bloodied nose almost touched Jenkins's. The immortal's good eye stared at the wriggling rat, unable to look away from it and the horror it represented. Linsky's grin broadened into a smile of triumph when he caught the scent of urine as his helpless prisoner lost control of his bladder.</p>
<p>"And I'll make your pretty little wife watch the whole thing as well!" he whispered tenderly, then gently perched the rat on Jenkins's shoulder.</p>
<p>The rat sniffed at the old immortal's earlobe. Jenkins began to scream mindlessly as Linsky walked slowly back toward his chair and sat down to enjoy the show.</p>
<p>As Jenkins screamed and thrashed desperately against his bonds, the rat dug its claws into the fabric of the immortal's shirt in a bid to keep from being thrown off, while the gap in the damaged link of Jenkins's shackles opened up just a bit wider.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. The Beginning of the End</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Guardian and the two remaining Librarians tumbled through the Back Door and into the parking lot of the convenience store. As soon as everyone was through, Eve whirled around to face the men, pulling her handgun out of its holster at the same time. She took a moment to take an assessing look at the faces in front of her: Stone was glowering and tense, ready to kick ass and take names. Jones was intensely quiet, but she could see that he was ready to go, too.</p>
<p>"Okay, we do this by the book!" she said warningly, giving her weapon a final check for readiness. "I don't want <em>anyone</em> getting hurt if we can at all help it, especially DOSA personnel. No sense in antagonizing them any more than we have to—the last thing the Library needs right now is a blood feud with the US Government!"</p>
<p>"Then maybe the US Government shoulda thought about that before they snatched Jenkins!" snarled Jacob, every muscle in his body taut. Eve took a step toward him and stared directly into his angry blue eyes.</p>
<p>"By the book, Stone!" she repeated slowly, enunciating each word clearly. "No cowboy-ing! We're going to get Jenkins back, but it's not gonna help if I have to divide my attention between the mission and you!" Eve sucked in a quick breath and took another step closer.</p>
<p>"Look, I know how you feel about Jenkins, both of you," she said, her tone steady and serious as she glanced between the two men. "And we all feel the same way about him. We're going to get him back; I promise, we're going to get him back. But we <em>all</em> have to be on the same page! We have to go in with a level head or someone's going to get hurt, maybe even killed. And what would Jenkins say about <em>that</em>?"</p>
<p>"He wouldn't say anything," answered Ezekiel, deadpan, glancing between the two. "He'd just kick your ass slowly by giving you some kind of gross…nasty…<em>thing</em> to do in one of the animal pens while he sits at that desk of his, drinking tea and laughing at you behind your back!" Eve smiled.</p>
<p>"Exactly! So let's not give him the satisfaction of that, okay?" That teased a small grin from the irate historian, and he dropped his eyes, nodding in agreement. Baird stood tall and took a second, deeper breath.</p>
<p>"Okay, let's go do this!" she said, then turned and began running across the parking lot in the direction of the warehouse.</p><hr/>
<p>Cassandra and Estrella ran across the wide gravel parking lot between the gatehouse and the warehouse and into the open-air garage area. As they ran up to the doors that led into the warehouse itself, Cassandra turned around to watch their backs as Estrella quickly swiped the stolen keycard. Both women sighed with relief when they heard first a soft beep, and then a loud click as the magnetic lock released the door. Estrella quickly jerked the door open and slipped inside, Cassandra right behind her. The vampire pulled the door closed again; there was another loud click as the lock immediately re-engaged. She turned to Cassandra.</p>
<p>"Which way now?" she whispered. The Librarian closed her eyes for just a moment. She raised her arms and crossed them in front of her face, them swept them apart in a broad, fluid motion</p>
<p>"On!" she whispered. Hanging in the air before her were the blueprints for the entire DOSA facility, the lines glowing bright blue and white. A few flicks of her hand pushed away the floors that didn't matter as she searched for the one containing the interrogation rooms. She quickly found the level she needed, and a wave of her hands to enlarge it. Estrella watched, fascinated, as her friend studied the map that was completely invisible to the vampire. After less than a minute, Cassandra crossed her arms in front of her face again and swept them apart.</p>
<p>"Off!" She looked over at Estrella. "I've got it; follow me!" she instructed, then darted off down a nearby hallway. Estrella looked around one last time, then turned and ran after Cassandra. The Librarian led her to another steel door and turned around.</p>
<p>"Keycard?" she whispered, and Estrella handed it to her. Cassandra swiped it, and again, the lock was released. Estrella was surprised, however, when she hurried through and found herself in a stairwell.</p>
<p>"I thought there was an elevator?" she asked, keeping her voice low. "Why are we taking the stairs?"</p>
<p>"There's more likely to be guards around the elevator," answered Cassandra. "Plus, if we do run into anyone here, we at least have a chance of getting away from them. If they catch us in the elevator, we'll be stuck!" Estrella grinned at her friend.</p>
<p>"You have a very cunning mind, Cassandra!" she teased quietly. The Librarian smirked and snorted softly.</p>
<p>"That's what happens when you hang around Ezekiel Jones for too long!" Cassandra began running up the stairs, Estrella hot on her heels.</p>
<p>"How far up do we have to go?" she asked, hardly winded.</p>
<p>"Only four flights," answered Cassandra, gasping lightly for breath as she pushed herself up the steps as fast as she could go.</p>
<p>"Maybe you should pace yourself a little bit?" the vampire advised. It was no problem for her to run up flight after flight of stairs; she had no breath to run short of, but Cassandra was still only human.</p>
<p>"Not while Jenkins is in danger!" Cassandra gasped back, and continued to climb.</p><hr/>
<p>Eve, Ezekiel and Jake crept up to the edge of the small stand of trees where Eve and Jake had observed the warehouse earlier in the day. Eve carefully raised her head to peer at the gatehouse. Her eyes widened and she sat back on her heels.</p>
<p>"Oh, shit!" she breathed, somewhere between anger and fruastration. The others turned to look at her.</p>
<p>"What is it?" asked Jones. Without answering him, Eve stood up and began running towards the gate.</p>
<p>"Baird! Wait!" hissed Jake loudly, then he, too, got to his feet and pounded after the Guardian.</p>
<p>"Bloody hell!" Ezekiel muttered to himself as he rolled his dark eyes. He heaved a loud, frustrated sigh, then stood up to lope after the other two.</p>
<p>Baird reached the gate and, as she had expected, saw that the chain locking it closed was broken. She quickly slipped through the gate and ran to the small gatehouse, making a beeline for the still bodies of the two guards she'd seen just a couple of hours ago. She stopped and checked one, then the other for a pulse, but found nothing.</p>
<p>"Baird?" questioned Jake, gasping for breath as he slid to halt, Ezekiel next to him.</p>
<p>"Their necks are broken, both of them," she said grimly and stood up. "Dammit! It had to be Estrella; I doubt Cassandra is strong enough or even tall enough to break a healthy man's neck like this." She turned and looked at the sprawling warehouse behind them. "They could be anywhere in there by now!"</p>
<p>"They're going after Jenkins," said Ezekiel. He darted forward and began patting down the dead men.</p>
<p>"Jones, what the hell are you doin', man?!" squawked Jake, horrified and disgusted. "Do not even tell me that you're lookin' for their wallets!" The thief plucked an electronic keycard from one of the men's pockets and held it up while giving Stone a disgusted look of his own.</p>
<p>"Keycard, mate," he said flatly. "The other bloke's missing his; that means the girls probably took it and that's how <em>they</em> got into the building. A lot easier than trying to hack the system. Not as much fun or as rewarding, but it does save time!"</p>
<p>Before Jake could snark back, a loud voice sounded behind them.</p>
<p>"Halt! Security! Get your hands where we can them, NOW!"</p>
<p>Eve's head whipped around as she automatically dropped into a low crouch. In the distance, she saw the perimeter patrol about a hundred feet away. One man was taking aim with his semi-automatic rifle, while the second man struggled to hold onto a whining German Shepherd as it strained against its leash. When the team didn't obey the guard's command, a gunshot sounded, followed a split-second later by a spray of wood splinters coming from the doorframe of the gatehouse just behind Stone's head.</p>
<p>"Time to go!" yelled Baird. She stood and raised her gun to return the guard's fire, taking care not to actually hit them as she backed toward the warehouse. The two soldiers instantly dropped to the ground. While she kept the guards pinned down, the two Librarians shot off across the parking lot, heading for the cover of the warehouse. Eve fired one more shot, then turned to sprint after the men. Behind her, she heard one of the guards yell out a command.</p>
<p>"Bruno! Attack!"</p>
<p>Baird glanced behind her just long enough to see the German Shepherd eagerly racing toward her, closing the distance between them fast.</p>
<p>"RUN!" she screamed at the Librarians. Ezekiel reached the warehouse door first and dragged the keycard through the reader on the lock. He heard the magnet release the door and yanked it open, holding it for the others.</p>
<p>"Come on! Come on!" he hollered. Jake and then Eve burst through the doorway and into the building. Ezekiel followed them in, forcibly pulling the door closed, its pneumatic arm fighting him. Jake ran over and grabbed the crash bar, adding his strength to the thief's. Together, they managed to pull the door closed just before Bruno slammed his entire body against the door, barking and clawing the door wildly in frustration as his prey escaped him. The guards made it up to the door a few seconds later. One man immediately began digging into his jacket for his own keycard.</p>
<p>"Hold it shut!" Ezekiel instructed Jake. Eve rushed over to help the historian hold the door closed, while Ezekiel reached into his back pocket to retrieve his phone and a thin connecting cable. He plugged one end of the cable into the phone; the other end he quickly jammed into a data port on a small steel box on the wall next to the door. Outside, the guards were now pounding on the steel door, yelling to be let in, while Bruno continued clawing at it and barking. The guards kept swiping the keycard to disengage the magnetic lock, then tried to pull the door open, struggling with Eve and Jake as they fought equally hard to keep it tightly closed.</p>
<p>"Jones!" shouted Eve tersely. The thief's eyes never left his phone screen.</p>
<p>"Just a sec!" he answered distractedly. The door popped open and an arm snaked through the opening to grab wildly at the intruders. There was moment of sheer panic as the door opened wider.</p>
<p>"We don't have a sec!" bellowed Jake, throwing his full weight back in an effort to pinch the arm between the door and its steel frame and force the guard to pull it back, but it wasn't working.</p>
<p>"Almost there…" answer Jones blandly.</p>
<p>Eve, who was closest to the opening but reluctant to let go of the crash bar, chased the guard's flailing hand with her mouth, snapping at it as she tried to bite it. By sheer luck, she managed to get a meaty part of the man's forearm between her teeth and she bit down on it hard. With a loud curse, the guard jerked his hand back and out, and the door slammed shut again, re-engaging the locking mechanism for the moment.</p>
<p>"JONES!" yelled Eve and Jake together.</p>
<p>"Keep your bloody shirts on!" he muttered. A few more taps on the phone's keyboard, and suddenly there was no more pulling coming from the guard's side of the door, though they continued to swipe the keycard and pound their fists on it, shouting.</p>
<p>"Locked!" said Ezekiel cheerfully as he removed the cable from the box. "I hacked into their door program and disabled all of the keycards; no one's card will work on any of the doors in the building now. You're welcome!" He nonchalantly stuck the phone and the cable back into his jeans pocket, then stepped away from the door to stand in the middle of the corridor. He spun around quickly once, then stopped and pointed down the hallway to their left.</p>
<p>"Elevator's that way!" he informed them, and took off. Panting, Eve cast one final look at the steel entry door; the guards outside were still banging on it, cursing. She glanced at Stone.</p>
<p>"You heard the man!" she said, and took off after Jones, Jacob falling in behind her.</p><hr/>
<p>The Librarian and the vampire reached the fourth floor stairwell and paused for a moment to allow the mortal Cassandra to catch her breath. She was a bit winded, but recovered quickly while Estrella remained unaffected by their rapid climb. When Cassandra indicated she was ready, Estrella held her back.</p>
<p>"<em>Hermana</em>, let me go first!" she urged, "just in case there is trouble waiting for us on the other side of that door." Reluctantly, Cassandra agreed, nodding and stepping back from the stairwell door. Estrella moved forward and gripped the handle, then glanced back at Cassandra to make sure she was ready. The Librarian nodded again, and she carefully pushed the thumb latch down, trying to make as little noise as possible, then she slowly pulled the door open. She peeped through the narrow crack and looked around, but saw nothing. She pulled the door open wider and slipped through, Cassandra after her.</p>
<p>The two looked around, but still saw no one; the area was suspiciously quiet—there seemed to be none of the personnel around that one would typically think of being in a facility this size. Cassandra tapped Estrella's arm.</p>
<p>"The interrogation rooms should be in this direction!" she whispered, and they hurried off down a hallway to their right as quietly as they could. After a couple of minutes, they began to round a corner. Cassandra halted abruptly, causing Estrella to bump into her. The Librarian turned and shoved the vampire back around the corner. She leaned forward to peek around the corner a second time before turning back to her friend.</p>
<p>"There's a guard in the hallway!" she whispered, barely audible, her cheeks flushed with excitement. "That must be where they're holding Jenkins!" Estrella traded places with Cassandra and peered around the corner to see for herself.</p>
<p>"I think you're right," she agreed. "What shall we do now?" Cassandra absently bit her lower lip as she considered Estrella's question. After a few moments, she signaled for them to move away from the corner and back down the hallway.</p>
<p>The first door they came to, Cassandra tried the knob and found it unlocked. She cautiously cracked it open, but could see only darkness. She opened the door wider and in the dim light of the hallway, she could just make out boxes and shelving inside the room. Familiar odors of cleaning supplies and musty water drains struck her nose. She turned and grinned at Estrella.</p>
<p>"It's a custodian's closet!" she whispered. "Come on!" She hurried inside the small room, and as soon as Estrella was inside with her, she quietly closed the door and felt around for the light switch. As the closet's dim lighting flickered on, she turned and leaned back against the closet door.</p>
<p>"Give me a minute," she said. "Let me see if I can 'feel' if Jenkins is nearby or not; I can do that through our Sealing." Estella nodded quickly in understanding. Cassandra took a deep breath to calm herself, exhaled it slowly and closed her eyes. She immediately felt the immortal's presence. Powerful emotions of fear and shame slammed sickeningly into her midsection, causing her to cry out as she wrapped her arms around her body and hunched over slightly.</p>
<p>"<em>Jenkins</em>!" she gasped.</p>
<p>"Cassandra!" Estrella hissed softly, alarmed. "Cassandra, are you all right?" Pale and shaken, Cassandra forced herself to stand up straight and removed her arms, but her hands stayed on her stomach. She looked over at the other woman, Cassandra's blue eyes burning with a surprising ferocity.</p>
<p>"They're hurting him!" she snapped angrily. Estrella again felt her friend's rage as it swept over her. She also felt the other odd sensation again, the otherworldly one that felt like <em>power</em>, the one that caused the dark-haired woman to become alarmed back in the Annex. She pushed the distracting feelings away; it was too late for hesitation now. She placed her hands on either side of the Librarian's face.</p>
<p>"Then we'll make them stop!" Estrella said coldly, staring directly into Cassandra's eyes. The redhead nodded, and stepped away from the door.</p>
<p>"Follow me!" said Cassandra, and pulled it open.</p><hr/>
<p>Eve and the Librarians found the elevator. With the keycard useless now, Ezekiel pulled out his phone again and hacked his way around the block he'd placed on all of the doors earlier. The elevator doors opened silently and everyone piled inside; Jones hit the button for the fourth floor. As the doors slid silently closed, they all exchanged anxious looks.</p>
<p>"I sure hope he's up here," growled Jacob. Ezekiel snorted.</p>
<p>"Me, too, mate," he answered. "'Cause if he's not here, then we've got over forty thousand square feet of warehouse scattered over four floors to search before more DOSA dudes show up and blow our heads off!"</p>
<p>"Good pep talk, Jones," replied Eve tartly as she watched the floor levels tick off on the elevator's digital display.</p><hr/>
<p>Estrella and Cassandra tiptoed down the hallway back to the corner where they'd spotted the guard earlier, and Estrella looked carefully around it.</p>
<p>"He's still there," she whispered back at Cassandra. "Wait here; I'll take care of him." Before the Librarian could answer, Estrella was gone. This time, she appeared right next to the unwary man. Her presence had barely registered in his consciousness before she struck him with one hard blow of her fist, knocking him out cold. The guard dropped heavily to the floor like a sack of grain.</p>
<p>The moment the man fell, Cassandra came out from behind the corner and ran to help Estrella drag him away from the door. Just as the Librarian joined her, the door that the soldier had been guarding started to open. Estrella dashed to stand on the other side of the doorway.</p>
<p>"Teague?" SargentAlan Soori's head appeared through the door. He stared in surprise at the sight of the petite redheaded woman, the same he'd seen on the security monitors. His eyes then fell on the unconscious guard. "Teague?!"</p>
<p>He stepped into the hallway and started toward Cassandra, his back to Estrella. Striking like a snake, she leaped onto his back and wrapped her right arm tightly around his throat, then used her left hand to pull her arm even tighter in a chokehold over the man's carotid artery. Soori's warning cry was reduced to a low squawk. He raised his hands to try and pull the woman's arm from off of his throat, but he was too late. No match for the vampire's superhuman strength, he went limp and still within seconds. He fell to the floor as Estrella released him and jumped back.</p>
<p>"Is he dead?" asked Cassandra flatly. Estrella shook her head.</p>
<p>"Neither of them is dead; it wasn't necessary this time," she replied.</p>
<p>"Too bad!" spat the redhead icily. "But at least now we know that Jenkins <em>must</em> be in there!" Estrella looked up from the men lying motionless at their feet, but said nothing. Cassandra brushed past Estrella and darted through the door, the immortal following her.</p>
<p>The women burst into the observation side of the interrogation room. They stopped dead in their tracks, shocked by the terrible scene that was clearly visible through the large, plate-glass observation window.</p>
<p>"Oh!" breathed Estrella, stunned. "Oh, Cassandra...!"</p>
<p>They saw Jenkins, completely disheveled, chained to a stainless steel table, unable to raise his hands more than a couple of inches above the table's surface. His coat and tie had been removed; the dress shirt he was left with was bloody and torn, both of its sleeves nearly ripped off. His face was bloodied as well, covered with ugly, plum-colored bruises. One eye was swollen shut, his broken nose and lower lip caked with dried blood. It was clear to both women that Jenkins had been beaten mercilessly.</p>
<p>Cassandra's horrified eyes then moved to her husband's right arm. She stared at the large gash that had been cut along its length, the pale skin stained with thick, oozing crimson. The worst part, though, was the huge gray rat slowly and carefully making its way from her husband's shoulder and down his arm toward the vicious gash while Jenkins writhed frantically, shrieking in terror.</p>
<p>She saw a thin man with dark, slicked-back hair and a familiar, bland-looking face get up from a chair opposite Jenkins and make his way to the immortal's side. Cassandra suddenly recalled the stranger—it was Agent Linsky, the DOSA man she and Ezekiel had hypnotized to think he was a chicken just before they sent him back to DOSA headquarters after the Trial of the Triangle. Cassandra had sometimes wondered over the last couple of years what had happened to him after that. Now, to her horror, she knew.</p>
<p>Jenkins was twisting madly and struggling against the bonds that held him, his face warped into a mask of fear bordering on sheer, blind panic. Cassandra realized that Linsky was speaking, but she could hear nothing of what he said. Eyes darting around the room, she saw the white metal door that led into the interrogation room. Numbly, she ran across the small space and took hold of the doorknob. Estrella tried to grab the Librarian's arm.</p>
<p>"Cassandra! No!"</p>
<p>Cassandra ignored her and turned the knob, shoved the door open as she burst through it, just in time hear the sound of Linsky's oily voice taunting her husband.</p>
<p>"...would all go away, Mr. Jenkins, if you would only cooperate?" Linsky said in a regretful tone, shaking his head.</p>
<p>Cassandra, closely followed by Estrella, started into the interrogation room, but stopped dead in the doorway and stared in shock and horror at Jenkins, the stench of blood, sweat and urine momentarily overpowering her rising anger. Linksy stopped pacing, his dark head snapping up to stare at the two intruders. As sonn as he recognized Cassandra, he grinned at them like a starving animal eyeing new prey.</p>
<p>"Jenkins...!" Cassandra whispered into her fingers as they flew up to cover her mouth, her heart skipping a beat as it pounded against her breastbone. Her horrified eyes turned to Linsky as he reached out and patted a large, antique book that sat on the tabletop.</p>
<p>"Mrs. Jenkins! Welcome!" he oozed. "I'm so pleased that you could finally make it!" Linsky walked around the end of the table and stood directly behind Jenkins, where the immortal couldn't see him. He grabbed the long white braid and savagely jerked the immortal's head backward, then bent over so that his lips were right next to Jenkins's ear.</p>
<p>"Look, Mr. Jenkins—it's your pretty little wife! She's decided to join our little party after all! <em>And</em> she's brought a friend!" Linsky stretched out his hand and gently, almost tenderly, caressed his captive's cheek. With a shriek, Jenkins flinched violently and tried desperately to pull his body away from the director's touch. Vile memories of sexual assault at the hands of Mathew Hopkins' men, long-repressed, broke free and flooded his mind like a burst dam and overwhelming him.</p>
<p>"No! Please! No!" Jenkins whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut as best he could. A single tear slipped from his halfway usable eye and slid down his cheek, cutting a path through the dried blood. With a harsh snort of derision, Linsky let go of the Caretaker's hair.</p>
<p>"Stupid old fool!" he sneered, adjusting his suit coat and brushing his hands as if to rid them of something noxious. He glanced over at Cassandra. "He refuses to answer any of my questions; perhaps <em>you'll</em> be more cooperative, Mrs. Jenkins?"</p>
<p>"I doubt it!" she spat angrily, glaring at the bureaucrat with eyes like ice. "Let him go!" Linsky frowned.</p>
<p>"I'm afraid I can't do that," he answered sadly. The rat had reached Jenkins's bloody forearm by now. It stopped to sniff the injury, squeaking softly, while Jenkins stared at, frozen by fear, his breathing coming now in short, sharp gasps. Linky's pallid face suddenly brightened. "Unless, of course, <em>you</em> would be willing to answer my questions about the Library and how I might gain access to it?" It was Cassandra's turn to snort derisively.</p>
<p>"Again—I doubt it!" she said coldly before repeating her demand. "Let him go!"</p>
<p>"No," he said flatly as he walked around the table toward her. As soon as he was close enough, Linsky's hand shot out like a snake and grabbed Cassandra's arm. He yanked her further into the room. At the same time he reached past her with his other hand and shoved Estrella back into the observation room, then slammed the door shut and turned the lock, isolating the vampire in the observation room. His hand gripped Cassandra's upper arm like iron as he dragged her to the steel table.</p>
<p>Linsky leaned forward slowly, adjusting his grip on Cassandra's arm, causing her to cry out in pain. He cruelly wrenched the Librarian's body forward and looked down into Jenkins's battered face, but Jenkins didn't seem to be aware of them. All he could see and feel and hear was the rat on his arm, its tiny claws feeling like razor-sharp knives on his skin. He could feel its tiny tongue begin to lap at the blood; soon it begin using its teeth.</p>
<p>"Please!" he barely whispered, too terrified to move, lest the rat bite him. "Please!"</p>
<p>"What? No sarcastic comments now?" Linsky coldly sneered. "No acid-tongued retorts? No knightly bravado?" He savagely jerked Cassandra arm again, a look of revulsion on his face. "Not so tough, <em>now</em>, are you, Sir Galahad? Not <em>nearly</em> so brave and noble now, sniveling and crying and pissing yourself while you beg for mercy!"</p>
<p>A preternatural calm descended over Cassandra and she stopped struggling. She closed her eyes and concentrated, reaching out to Jenkins through their bond.</p>
<p>Jenkins gasped softly as, through the haze of pain and fear he was mired in, he suddenly felt something caress his soul like a cool, gentle breeze. He instantly recognized it.</p>
<p>"Cassandra?" His voice was barely audible as he called out to her and opened his eyes, his vision blurring as tears welled in them.</p>
<p>"I'm here, sweetheart! I'm here!" she cried out, and tried to reach out to him. Linsky roughly pulled her back.</p>
<p>"Cassandra?" Jenkins repeated, more loudly this time. With every fiber of his being, he forced his mind to focus only on the sound of his beloved's voice, the feel of her soul gently brushing his. She <em>was</em> here, he could feel her, even if he couldn't see her clearly. Then his heart turned to ice in his chest as he realized that she was <em>here</em>, in this awful room, with this insane monster.</p>
<p>"Go, Cassandra! Before he captures you as well!" he rasped. Linsky burst into laughter.</p>
<p>"Far too late for that, freak!" crowed Linsky in triumph. "You had your chance, but you waited too long!" The director pulled Cassandra to stand in front of him before she had a chance to react. He took her long red hair painfully into his fist and buried his rat-like nose into it, breathing in its scent deeply and loudly and she squirmed against his hold on her.</p>
<p>"Tell me how I get into the Library!" Linsky demanded, his voice low and threatening. Jenkins became still, his good eye locked onto Linsky's hand as it moved menacingly over Cassandra's shoulder and arm across her chest. Without warning, he grabbed her blouse and ripped it open, buttons flying as Cassandra gasped in surprise, automatically trying to cross her hands over her chest to cover her breasts.</p>
<p>"Tell me how I get into the Library," he repeated coldly, "Or I'll start 'questioning' your pretty little wife right here, right now!"</p>
<p>"No! Don't tell him anything, Jenkins! Don't tell him anything!" she shouted, her momentary shock now reforming into anger. Linsky struck the back of her head, hard.</p>
<p>"Shut up!" he yelled. He grabbed the back of her neck and bent her over the table, brutally driving her forehead sharply into the tabletop. She cried out as the steel rang dully from the blow.</p>
<p>"<em>How do I get into the Library</em>!" the man screamed at Jenkins.</p>
<p>"No!" shrieked Cassandra, turning her head awkwardly to look up at the immortal. She felt Linsky's knee forcing her legs apart behind her. "No, Jenkins! You have to protect the Library!" Behind them, she could hear Estrella's muffled angry screams as she pounded on the door and then the bulletproof glass partition.</p>
<p>"Let her go!" said Jenkins, his voice suddenly hard and commanding.</p>
<p>"<em>HOW DO I GET INTO THE LIBRARY</em>!" Linksy roared, enraged by the freak's continued defiance.</p>
<p>"Don't tell him!" Cassandra cried out. Deep within her soul, she felt her husband's terror and humiliation evaporate, to be replaced by fury and hatred.</p>
<p>"Let. Her. Go." Jenkins's voice was quiet now as he glared into the feverish eyes of the director of DOSA. "Let her go, or I will kill you."</p>
<p>With no conscious bidding from Cassandra, equations began to fly through the Librarian's mind like fiery arrows, gradually building speed until they were nothing but flashes of light the color of burning coals. She closed her eyes and let the equations fly.</p>
<p>"<em>Tell me how to get into the Library</em>!" Linsky shouted angrily, but Jenkins remained silent. Linsky began to fumble with his belt. Behind them, Estrella began throwing her slight body against the door, trying desperately to force it open with her strength, but only barely able to budge the reinforced door.</p>
<p>Cassandra, her eyes glazed, opening her eyes stared at a spot where one wall met another, as if she was petitioning a far-off deity. Loose papers and lighter objects in the room began to flutter and move.</p>
<p>"I'll teach you!" Linsky shrieked, unable to tolerate Jenkins's continued insolence. "<em>I'll teach you</em>!" He began shoving Cassandra's skirt up over her buttocks.</p>
<p>With a deafening bellow, Jenkins rose from his seat, sending the frightened rat flying across the room to bounce against the wall before falling to the floor. The muscles of Jenkins's arms, shoulders and back bulged and strained as he pulled against the shackles binding his hands to the table. His damaged ribs screamed with pain at the effort, but he didn't feel it. All he could feel now was rage at this repulsive creature that dared to touch his Cassandra in such a foul manner. He relaxed for a moment, just long enough to gather his last resources of strength. Then, with one final effort, he pulled with all of his might, the shackles biting deeply into his wrists. Suddenly, the weakened link of the shackle-chain gave way with a loud metallic report.</p>
<p>The moment his still-cuffed hands were free, Jenkins leaned across the table and seized Linsky by his shirtfront and pulled him forward. Jenkins moved his hands up to seize Linsky by the throat, wrapping his long fingers around the man's neck and squeezing them as hard as he could, his only thought being to kill the man who had dared to try and hurt Cassandra.</p>
<p>The Librarian calmly wriggled her way out from underneath the two men and stood off to one side of the table, unconsciously straightening her clothes while turning to face them. As she watched them struggle, the equations sped across her field of vision in a blur. Without being aware of it, she began to gracefully raise her hands as her eyes slid closed again.</p>
<p>"Cassandra! Jenkins!" yelled Estrella from behind the two-way mirror in alarm, as she continued to try and wrench the door off of its hinges The air on the observation room began to become unbearably warm, heavy and oppressive. But neither Jenkins nor Cassandra seemed to hear her. The vampire saw her friend's lips moving, as if speaking, but she couldn't hear a thing. All the while, Jenkins continued trying to strangle Linsky. The enraged knight felt cartilage crunch beneath his hands, but in his weakened condition and with his hands bound, he still had a hard time subduing the smaller man. Estrella gave up on the door and started violently punching the window again, the skin over her knuckles splitting under the force of her blows and leaving smears of blood on the thick glass.</p>
<p>"Cassandra! What are you doing?" she shouted. The vampire's acute hearing picked up the sound of voices coming from the other side of the door leading into the hallway behind her. Estrella struck the glass even harder, frantic to get Cassandra's attention.</p>
<p>"Cassandra! More soldiers are coming!" she cried. The pressure continued to build in the room, pressing painfully on Estrella's eardrums. She clamped her hands over her ears, pain lancing through her head. But, to her amazement, the human woman and the men seemed to be unaffected; the Librarian only stood, still as a statue, a faraway look on her face, her blue eyes glowing with silent rage. "Cassandra!"</p>
<p>Linsky, gasping for breath, balled his right hand into a tight fist and punched the left side of Jenkins's ribcage as hard as he could—right in the immortal's damaged ribs. Surprised and blinded by the intensity of the pain, Jenkins released his stranglehold on Linsky and fell onto the table, writhing in agony. Linsky, coughing as he tried to breathe again through his damaged windpipe, grabbed the steel chair and raised it high over his head, preparing to smash it into the back of the disabled immortal's head. The chair hung in the air, though, as Linsky made one final attempt.</p>
<p>"Tell me how to get into the Library!" he rasped, "And maybe I won't beat your head to a pulp!"</p>
<p>Jenkins twisted his head so that he could see Linsky clearly. As he stared directly into the infuriated man's face, a tear of pain fell from the corner of his eye and ran down the side of his torn cheek, its salt stinging him lightly. His voice quavered with fury as he finally responded to the director's repeated demand.</p>
<p>"Go to Hell!"</p>
<p>Linsky was stunned at first, but his astonishment quickly melted into rage. Livid, he adjusted his grip on the chair as he prepared to bring it down on Jenkins's head.</p>
<p>"You're the one going to Hell, freak!" hissed Linsky, his eyes blazing. He bent over the table to place his face as close to Jenkins as he could. "After I'm through with you, I promise that your pretty little wife and I will spend some 'quality time' together!"</p>
<p>Jenkins, his eyes never leaving Linsky's face, slowly, painfully, raised his broken body up as much as he could, then took a deep, painful breath. His lower jaw moved, as if preparing to speak. Linsky leaned in even further; as soon as he was close enough, Jenkins spat directly into his face.</p>
<p>Linsky, almost shaking with rage, jerked his body upright.</p>
<p>"So be it!" screeched Linsky and the chair began its downward arc towards Jenkins's head.</p>
<p>"So be it!" echoed Cassandra, her voice low and deadly.</p>
<p>Estrella caught a split-second flash of glowing light as the Librarian's eyes instantly changed from sky blue to reddish gold; at the same moment Cassandra dropped her arms. Pure instinct told the vampire to drop to the floor just beneath the two-way mirror and curl her body into a tight, protective ball.</p>
<p>A split-second later the interrogation room exploded.</p><hr/>
<p>The elevator slowed and softly jerked to a halt on the fourth floor. As the doors slid apart, the Guardian and her Librarians cautiously exited the car. Eve had her sidearm at the ready, her practiced military eye sweeping the area for any sign of danger. Seeing none, she whispered over her shoulder.</p>
<p>"Where to now, Jones?"</p>
<p>"This way," answered Ezekiel, also whispering as he pointed to the right. "The interrogation rooms should be in that direction, about two hundred feet." Eve turned to face the men.</p>
<p>"Everybody—and I mean <em>everybody</em>—stays behind me!" she ordered. She turned her back on them and began to carefully lead them along the corridor, her eyes and ears straining to catch any sights or sounds that could alert them to danger.</p>
<p>The small party came to a turn in the hallway, and Baird raised one arm, her hand automatically in a fist, as a signal for them to stop. Pressing her back against the wall, Eve inched along until she could carefully peer around the corner into the next hallway. She saw nothing except the bodies of two men lying on the carpeted floor, just beyond a doorway.</p>
<p>"You've <em>got</em> to be kidding me," she grumbled softly, and adjusted her grip on her weapon before sliding around the corner. She hurried to the men, going onto one knee as she gave them a quick examination. Jake and Ezekiel were soon huddling around her.</p>
<p>"Dead?" asked Jake. Eve shook her head.</p>
<p>"No, they're both unconscious." The sound of trampling feet was suddenly heard coming in their direction from both in front and in back of the team. As Eve stood up and looked up and down the hallway, she saw two small groups of heavily-armed soldiers moving to trap her and the Librarians in the hall. Each group stopped about thirty feet away, their rifles aimed directly at them. Eve kept her gun down, hoping the soldiers couldn't see it.</p>
<p>"Drop your weapons! Put your hands at the back of your heads!" one of the soldiers shouted.</p>
<p>"What do we do now?" mumbled Ezekiel, his dark head turning back and forth to warily eye each group of soldiers. Eve shook her head slightly.</p>
<p>"I have no—"</p>
<p>The Guardian didn't get to finish her sentence. A loud, rumbling crack, like the peal of thunder, sounded from the other side of the wall to her right. Pure instinst took over.</p>
<p>"<em>GET DOWN!"</em></p>
<p>Eve instinctively threw herself onto the floor face-down, covering the backs of her head and neck with her hands, while Jake shoved Ezekiel forward roughly further down the hall and away from Eve, the two of them ending up in a stunned pile a dozen feet away.</p>
<p>Less than a heartbeat later, the windowless steel door was blown out into the hallway as a massive blast concussion wrenched it off of its hinges and sent it flying into the hallway, taking its frame and most of the wall with it, narrowly missing Eve and the Librarians. The door smashed through the wall opposite the interrogation room, followed by shards of glass, twisted steel beams, raggedly snapped two-by-fours, chunks of drywall and other bits of debris. The door smashed through the office on the other side of the corridor wall, then through the office's far wall, where it then sailed free into the warehouse grounds outside.</p>
<p>A second later, the entire southeast corner of the fourth floor of the warehouse disappeared in a massive cloud of pulverized construction materials and office furniture, leaving what remained open beneath a sunny, clear blue sky. The blast caught the stunned soldiers completely by surprise; all of them were blown out of the building along with the debris and flung high through the air, smashing into the pavement of the warehouse parking lot like broken dolls.</p>
<p>His head ringing, Jake clambered clumsily onto his feet, then helped Jones to stand up. Coughing and gasping, they waved their hands to clear away the cloud of smoke and dust from in front of their faces. The two gaped in shock at the destruction; the flooring seemed to have remained intact, but the ceiling, roof and most of the walls were gone in this part of the fourth floor. Building security alarms were blaring now, as was every car alarm in a one-block radius of the warehouse. They could hear the sound of falling water as the building's dry pipe sprinkler system activated in nearby remaining sections of the warehouse.</p>
<p>"Baird!" Stone shouted, continuing to cough as he stumbled back to the Guardian across the rubble-strewn floor. He found her, still on the ground, motionless. There were several thin trickles of blood coming from several cuts on her arms and face where flying debris had struck her. Jake's heart lurched in his chest and turned to a lump of ice-cold stone.</p>
<p>"EVE!" he cried out hoarsely, throwing himself onto his knees next to her frighteningly still body.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Just Desserts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eve Baird slowly opened her eyes. She could barely hear the frantic shouts Of Jake and Ezekiel over the ringing in her ears, but she could feel their hands on her upper arms, holding onto her tightly and gently shaking her. She tried to take a deep breath as she started to push herself upright and instantly started coughing, choked by the dust and debris that hung in the air.</p><p>"Eve!" Ezekiel's voice was a little clearer now. The Guardian groaned as she sat up, closing her eyes at the dizziness it brought on. When she opened her eyes again, she was perplexed by the bright blue sky and the bright midafternoon sun overhead.</p><p>"How did we get outside?" she asked dazedly.</p><p>"Eve! Are you all right?" the thief asked again worriedly, helping her to stay upright. Baird turned her head slowly, confused. What had happened? Then, it all came back to her: DOSA, Jenkins, Cassandra, Estrella. And an explosion.</p><p>A woman's voice suddenly cut through the dust-choked air.</p><p>"<em>Cassandra! Look out!"</em></p><p>"Cassandra!" Baird croaked, climbing painfully to her feet. Ezekiel helped her; Jake, dusty and bearing only minor cuts and scrapes, hovered nearby, watching her anxiously. She pushed past them and stumbled over to what was left of the observation room: A partial, jagged-edged length of wall with a gigantic gap in it where a door had once been. She picked her way over the rubble to the empty doorway and peered inside. As soon as she saw the remains of the observation room and what it contained, Eve stopped, her jaw dropping. When the two Librarians caught up to her, they, too, were halted in their tracks by the astounding scene in front of them.</p>
<hr/><p>The ceiling and all four walls surrounding Cassandra, Jenkins and Linsky evaporated in a cloud of disintegrating wood, metal and sheetrock. Jenkins and Linsky were thrown to the floor, but Cassandra remained standing, untouched by the maelstrom of destruction happening around her. Linsky quickly scrambled back to his feet; he saw Cassandra, her eyes closed, her long white arms at hers sides, palms turned out, her head fallen slightly back. He quickly realized that <em>she</em> was responsible for what was happening.</p><p>"Witch!" he whispered, almost too shocked to believe his own accusation. "WITCH!" he shouted again. He started toward her, but halted at the loud cracking sound coming from is right. His head whipped toward the noise just in time to see the thick glass of the two-way window suddenly shatter into billions of tiny deadly splinters before his eyes. They miraculously hung in the air where the window had been only a second before, while the rest of the wall disappeared into rubble and flew outward. The shards danced in the air for only a moment, the bright sunlight pouring in from the missing roof overhead making them spark and shimmer like crystals. It was the most beautiful thing Linsky had ever seen—until they all turned as one being and tore through the dusty air in the direction of Director Linsky, a veritable hailstorm of shrapnel from which there was no escape.</p><p>Too late, Linsky realized what was going to happen. He screamed and tried to turn and drop back to the floor, but to no avail. He was struck full-on by the barrage of glass, the hundreds of thousands of needle-like splinters piercing his clothing and sinking deep into his skin like the stingers of angry hornets. Linsky was now the one writhing in agony on the hard cement floor, shrieking in searing pain as his panic-stricken movements drove the shards even more deeply into his flesh.</p><p>When she felt the blast was over, Estrella carefully uncurled her body and quickly rolled onto her knees as she looked around the destroyed area. To her amazement, Cassandra was still standing upright, still had a distant, vacant look on her face, but without so much a scratch visible on her anywhere. Jenkins, dazed, was sitting on the floor, his feet still chained to the eyebolt, but he, too, appeared to have miraculously escaped injury by the explosion as well. Linsky, on the other hand, was a bloody, twisting mass of screaming flesh on the floor at Cassandra's feet.</p><p>"Cassandra?" gasped Estrella softly, looking back at the Librarian. Cassandra slowly raised her arm to point blindly at the immortal.</p><p>"Help Jenkins," she instructed, her voice eerily calm and distant over the gurgling screams of Linsky.</p><p>Assured that Cassandra wasn't physically injured, Estrella hurriedly began to pick her way through the wreckage. Within a few moments she was next to Jenkins. He was confused by the explosion and didn't seem to notice her. She gently took his battered face in her hands and turned his head towards her.</p><p>"Jenkins! Jenkins! Do you know who I am?" she asked urgently. He blinked owlishly up at her, then, amazingly, gave her a small smile.</p><p>"Estrella?" he asked faintly. She smiled back, relieved.</p><p>"<em>Sí, Osito</em>!" she replied. "And Cassandra is here, too!" He frowned, and her brow furrowed.</p><p>"Is she safe?" he demanded to know, his one decent eye struggling to focus on the vampire. Estrella nodded.</p><p>"She is safe, <em>Osito</em>—shall we go and see her now?"</p><p>"Yes, please," he answered docilely, barely nodding his head.</p><p>Large pieces of debris continued to fall around them from what remained of the roof and ceiling. Estrella realized that this entire section of the floor they were on was gone now; most of the walls were gone, leaving only ragged stumps jutting up from the floor here and there. How the floor under their feet hadn't collapsed as well, Estrella couldn't begin to guess; right now she needed to get Jenkins out of here in case it <em>did</em> collapse.</p><p>Estrella grabbed the shackles binding his ankles and, with all of her strength, broke the chain that held him to the floor. She next pulled the shackles themselves apart that bound his wrists and ankles so that Jenkins could walk and use his hands again, then helped the badly beaten man to stand up. They would have to wait until they got him back to the Library to remove the shackles from each of his hands and feet.</p><p>While Estrella was helping Jenkins, Cassandra moved slowly across the interrogation room. She cast a distant, disdainful glance at the injured Linsky, then turned her attention to Estrella as she pulled apart the chains that bound Jenkins to the floor. When she saw that he was free and on his feet, Cassandra turned and began to walk back into what was left of the observation room.</p><p>"<em>Cassandra! Look out!"</em></p><p>No sooner had Estrella called out to her than there was a painful, crushing pressure encircling her neck like an iron band, cutting off all of her air. Cassandra's hands flew up and she felt two large hands gripping her, the fingers digging painfully into her throat as she instinctively clawed at them. Behind her, from far away, she could hear a raspy scream of rage, a man's voice.</p><p>"<em>I'll kill you</em>!" it shrieked wildly. Cassandra dimly recognized the voice as Linsky's. She feebly twisted and writhed in his grasp, her nails barely scratching the skin of his hands and arms as she tried to free herself, her mind seemingly caught in a fog. Her vision began to darken as consciousness slipped away from her. She tried to call out for help, but all she could produce was a faint croak.</p><p>"<em>Cassandra</em>!" Estrella's voice, seeming to come from miles away as the Librarian felt her body begin to sag.</p><p>There was a second ear-shattering scream, and just as suddenly as he had attacked her, Linsky's hands disappeared from around her throat. Cassandra dropped to her knees, coughing and gasping for breath as she rubbed her bruised neck. Estrella was suddenly next to her, pulling her to her feet.</p><p>"<em>Hermana</em>! Are you all right?" the vampire demanded. Cassandra nodded her head, still coughing too hard to speak. She heard a series of metallic-sounding thuds coming from behind them, and Cassandra turned to see what was happening.</p><p>She was stunned to see Jenkins, with murder in his eyes. One hand encircled the back of Linsky's neck, the other gripped the edge of the table for leverage. In a blind rage, Jenkins repeatedly rammed his tormentor's face and head against the top of the steel table. A red splattering of blood appeared and grew with each blow on the table's surface.</p><p>"Jenkins!" Cassandra tried to stop him, but, consumed with rage, he couldn't hear her. Before she could try again, a khaki-colored blur rushed past the two women and inserted its arms between Jenkins and his victim. It was Eve Baird.</p><p>"Jenkins, <em>stop</em>!" the Guardian shouted, trying with all her might to push the immortal away from Linsky. The director's eyes were bulging and his face was a bloody, pulp-like mess.</p><p>"<em>Stop it</em>, Jenkins! <em>Let him go</em>!" The immortal's hate-glazed eyes flickered as he recognized the Guardian's voice.</p><p>"NO!" he roared, his blood-caked lips drawing painfully back over his teeth in a snarl. "He's <em>mine</em>!" Eve flinched at the sound of Linsky's head striking the table again hard as Jenkins double-downed on his vengeance. She glanced at the DOSA director; his eyes were rolling back into his head, and his struggles were becoming feeble. She was shocked by the amount of blood that seemed to coat the DOSA man's entire body—had <em>Jenkins</em> done off of this damage?</p><p>"Jenkins, <em>don't</em>!" Eve shouted, forcing herself back to the issue at hand. She tried to insert as much of her body as possible between the two men, but Jenkins, even in his battered state, was too strong for her.</p><p>"Jones! Stone! Help me!" she yelled. The two Librarians were on Jenkins at once, but still the enraged immortal held on.</p><p>"Estrella!" called Baird, desperate. The vampire cast a quick glance at Cassandra to make sure she was all right, then she joined the others as they tried to separate Jenkins and Linsky. With the vampire's strength, they were finally able to pull Jenkins off of Linsky. Linsky slumped to the floor as the Caretaker fought to free himself from their grasp, but he was too tired and weak by now, and there were too many of them. Eve put herself in his line of sight, blocking out Linsky as she looked up into his fiery eyes.</p><p>"Jenkins! Stop!" she said, forcing her voice to stay calm.</p><p>"Why?!" he demanded hoarsely. "After what he's done to us? After what he just tried to do to Cassandra?! After he tried to….<em>violate</em> may wife?!" He tried again to wrest himself from the hold Jake, Ezekiel and Estrella had on him, but they held him fast. "Go! Leave him to me! He deserves to die!"</p><p>"I <em>won't</em>!" the Guardian replied, closing the gap between them. She looked directly into his angry, pain-filled eyes.</p><p>"You don't want his blood on your hands, Jenkins!" she said fiercely. "He's not worth it! He's <em>failed</em>, Jenkins! He's <em>done</em>! DOSA, the Pentagon—they'll cut him loose now! He's a threat to no one now, he'll never be a threat to you or to Cassandra or to anyone else ever again, and that's enough! If you let him live, he'll have to live as a complete failure for the rest of his life!" Jenkins snarled and again began to struggle against those holding him.</p><p>"That's not enough!" he shouted, and redoubled his efforts to escape. "He laid his hands on Cassandra! He assaulted her and I want him <em>dead</em>!"</p><p>"Jenkins?" a soft, quiet voice cut through the haze of his wrath like a razor-sharp sword. The anger drained from him instantly when he turned his head and saw Cassandra—his beautiful, precious Cassandra. She was standing and gazing at him, a pained, far-away look on her face. His legs were still somewhat stiff and cramped after being bound in the same position at the table for so long, but Jenkins turned and stumbled as quickly as he could toward her. The vampire and the Librarians let go of him.</p><p>"Cassandra!" he croaked, holding his arms out to her long before he reached her. The sound of his voice seemed to snap the Librarian out of her stupor. She blinked rapidly and gasped softly, as though she'd been holding her breath for too long. She stretched out her arms and closed the distance between the two of them herself. As soon as she reached Jenkins, she threw herself into his arms, only to jump back, startled, when he cried out in pain.</p><p>"Jenkins!" she said, concerned for him. "What's wrong? Oh! You're hurt! Where?!" Sucking in air between his clenched teeth, Jenkins forced a smile to his lips.</p><p>"It's nothing," he lied in a weak voice. "Just some bruised ribs, I think." She stood back and looked up at him, her eyes filling with tears at his brave front. Her head throbbed with pain and she felt nauseous with dizziness, but she forced it all aside. Her hands slipped down his arms until she was holding his hands. She looked down and saw the shackles still on his wrists, saw the angry, bleeding wounds where their edges had cut into his skin. Her tears finally spilled over her pale cheeks.</p><p>"Oh! Jenkins!" she moaned. Eve Baird was suddenly at her side.</p><p>"Cassandra! Are you all right?!" the worried Guardian asked. She took one look at Jenkins and couldn't help but shudder. She shook her head in dismissal; they could lick their wounds later. Right now they all needed to get out of the warehouse. DOSA must surely be sending reinforcements by now.</p><p>"I wish we had time to for a proper reunion, guys," she said quickly. "But we gotta move, <em>now</em>! Before DOSA sends backup!"</p><p>"He's hurt, Eve!" cried Cassandra, turning to look piteously at the Guardian. An expression of sympathy and distress crossed Eve's face.</p><p>"I know, Cass," she said. "But if we don't get out of here right now, he'll end up right back in another interrogation room—and us with him!" She turned to the other Librarians. "Jake—help Jenkins out of here! Don't take the elevator in case the blast damaged it; take the stairs and get him back to the Annex as fast as you can!"</p><p>"Right!" acknowledged Stone, and quickly slung one of the huge Caretaker's arms over his shoulders. Cassandra started to follow them, but Eve caught her arm and held her back.</p><p>"Hey! Let go!" she said angrily, but Eve held on as she looked over at Ezekiel and Estrella.</p><p>"We need a diversion," she snapped. "Something to distract the authorities and/or DOSA long enough to cover our escape—something big—and fast. Ideas?" Ezekiel looked around at the others, then shrugged his shoulders.</p><p>"How about an exploding gas line?" he asked. "I saw a gas stove and a microwave in the office breakroom on the way here, third floor. Odds are there's something in an aerosol can in there as well. Turn on the gas, throw the aerosol into the microwave, hit the 'start' button, then run like hell? Crude, but effective, <em>if</em> we get the timing right..."</p><p>"Fantastic; sounds like a plan, I love it," Baird agreed tersely. A loud moan came from the corner of the destroyed room, and the Guardian slapped her thighs in frustration.</p><p>"<em>Dammit</em>! I forgot all about Linsky!" she said. "And we can't just leave him here!"</p><p>"Why not?" demanded Cassandra bitterly, one hand going automatically to her bruising throat. "After what he's done to Jenkins, I say let him roast!"</p><p>"I'm with Cassandra on this one!" agreed Ezekiel angrily. "Let him fry!" Eve looked at them in disbelief.</p><p>"Because that's <em>not</em> who we are or what we do!" she exclaimed. "I know you're both upset, but we can't just leave him here to die. That would be <em>wrong</em>!"</p><p>The Librarian's face changed before Eve's eyes; Cassandra turned her head to look directly into the tall woman's eyes, her expression going from bitter anger to cold hatred, but she offered no further protests. Eve looked over at Jones and Estrella.</p><p>"Ezekiel, you take Cassandra and Estrella to that third floor breakroom and do your thing," she ordered. "I'll get Linsky and..."</p><p>"No; <em>I'll</em> take Linsky," cut in Estrella, gazing steadily at Baird. "I can handle him much more easily than you, plus the glass in his body can't hurt me like it can with you. Any injuries I get will heal instantaneously." After a moment of thought, Eve gave her a curt nod.</p><p>"Go," she said. "Take him to the parking and leave him where the paramedics can find him, then hustle back to the Annex!" Without another word, Estrella turned and dashed over to Linsky. Eve turned back to the remaining Librarians.</p><p>"Okay," she said grimly. "Let's find that kitchen and do some cooking!"</p>
<hr/><p>Estrella glared down at Linsky after everyone else left the room. He was still sprawled on the floor where Jenkins had dropped him, moaning weakly in a pool of his own blood that slowly but surely spread from beneath his head and body. She stooped and dabbed her finger in the blood on the floor, then raised her hand to examine the bright red stain with a critical eye. She opened her mouth and gingerly touched her blood-covered finger to her tongue. Almost immediately she turned her dark head and spat it out again, a look of disgust wrinkling her beautiful face.</p><p>"Bah! You taste as bitter and poisonous as your soul!" she said. "I should let you die right here, in the same Hell in which you meant for Jenkins to suffer!" She stood up, brushing dust from her hands. "But Colonel Baird is correct; <em>we</em> are better than that. We are better than <em>you</em>!"</p><p>A movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention and she whipped her head around, crouching, ready to attack. Instead, she burst into soft laughter and went over to the source of the movement, then bent over to pick up a large rat.</p><p>"Hey, <em>hermanito</em>!" she cooed, carefully examining the dazed rodent. It had a few minor cuts from the flying glass, but she could feel no broken bones. Considering the extent of the destruction, the rat was a very lucky fellow.</p><p>"How would you like to come home with me, eh?" she asked the injured animal as she held it up in front of her face. "You are just as much a victim of this pig as poor Jenkins; it would not be right to punish you for being this man's captive, <em>es la</em> <em>verdad</em>? You come home with me and I'll take good care of you!" She carefully placed the rat against her shoulder and held it in place with one hand. With her other hand, she started to grasp the back of Linsky's suit by its collar, but stopped when she spotted the journal of Matthew Hopkins partially poking out from beneath a broken slab of drywall. Nearby was an open briefcase and several files and papers scattered across the floor, many of the bearing a large red stamp that read "DOSA—TOP SECRET".</p><p>Estrella hesitated only a moment. She quickly tucked the rat down the front of her blouse, then went over to retrieve the thick, heavy book, then began scooping up as many of the files and papers as she could find, throwing them all into the briefcase. She stopped when one photograph caught her eye: A picture her herself, with Tomás and Mama at the spa. Stunned, she slowly turned to picture over. Written on the back was the name of the spa, their names, and the date the photo was taken a full two years before she even met Cassandra and the others.</p><p>Estrella's heart pounded as she realized that DOSA knew about the spa, knew that at least she and her family were vampires—which meant that they probably also knew that everyone at the spa was a vampire. Horrified by that knowledge, she quickly stuffed the picture into the briefcase and snapped it shut. She hurried back to Linsky, grabbed him by the collar and started dragging him out, taking care to not injure the rat in the process.</p><p>She easily dragged him to the stairwell and down the several flights of stairs as slowly as she dared to go, making sure he bumped painfully over each step all the way down to the ground floor. All the way down, her mind raced as she pondered what to do about Linsky. He knew her secret, he knew about the spa. DOSA knew, too. What should she do now? How could she protect herself and the other vampires? With each step, a decision formed and then hardened into determination in her mind.</p><p>She dragged him outside and unceremoniously dropped him just outside the door, bending and wiping her hand on the leg of her jeans while holding onto the heavy briefcase. In the distance, she could hear the sound of approaching sirens; they would be here within minutes. She knelt down and lowered her head over Linsky's bloody face.</p><p>"Hey! Pig!" As soon as Linsky opened his eyes, she set the briefcase down on the ground next to her and opened it, pulled out the picture and held it up.</p><p>"What do you know about this?" she demanded, shaking the phot at him. His bloodied mouth spread in a small grin.</p><p>"Now I remember you!" he rasped. "The spa in Charleston. I saw you when I did recon there." He reached up and grasped the front of her blouse in his fist.</p><p>"Those people—you heal them somehow! What do you do to them? Spells? Potions? Magic of some kind?" He tried to pull her closer, but Estrella easily pulled his hand from her shirt.</p><p>"Doesn't DOSA know already? This was in their files!" she asked bitterly. To her surprise, Linsky started to laugh, but soon ended up coughing with the effort.</p><p>"DOSA!" he wheezed derisively. "Idiots! All of them!" He reached to lay a bleeding hand on the briefcase. "I tried to tell them, tried to tell Rockwell—something suspicious going on in Charleston! Cancer patients, healed completely, like magic! But they don't believe me…"</p><p>Estrella gaped at Linsky in disbelief; DOSA <em>didn't</em> know about the spa! At least, not yet, but there was danger of their discovery as long as Linsky lived.</p><p>"It occurs to me that you know too much about my friends and about the Library," she said, her melodious voice now soft and dangerous at the same time as she slipped the picture back into the briefcase and shut it. "It occurs to me that we would all be much safer with you dead." Linsky feebly turned his head to glare up at her, his mouth barely twisting into a sneer</p><p>"You can't kill me!" he whispered. "You can't escape! No escape; DOSA will get you…!"</p><p>She smiled, and with a jerk of her head to one side, Estrella's lovely face suddenly became something wild and bestial, with dark eyes glowing like coals and a snarling mouth suddenly armed with long, sharp canines.</p><p>Linksy gasped and tried to cry out at the terrifying sight, but he never made it. Estrella's head darted downward and she sank her teeth into Linsky's soft throat. She closed her jaws on his already damaged windpipe, cutting off all airflow. His desperate, feeble attempts to push her off of him rapidly grew weaker and weaker until, finally, all movement ceased.</p><p>Estrella released him and quickly stood up. She spat out a mouthful of his foul-tasting blood and took a moment to stare into his open, lifeless eyes. The sirens were almost here; she didn't have any more time to waste on this creature.</p><p>"Pig!" she said coldly as she wiped his blood from her mouth. She gave Linsky a sharp kick in his ribs, just for good measure, then snatched up the briefcase and disappeared in a faint puff of red-gold smoke.</p>
<hr/><p>Eve, Cassandra and Ezekiel raced down the hallway to the break room. The two men that Estrella had incapacitated were no longer in the hallway when they left the ruins of the observation room, but Eve didn't waste much time wondering about where they had gone. She and the Librarians had much bigger fish to fry right now.</p><p>As they ran, Eve was struck by how little damage there was outside of the immediate blast area. There should have been at least cracks in the walls, but there didn't appear to be so much as a picture askew. Baird stopped and looked around, a look of confusion on her face. Jones noticed and stopped, too, turning to look back at her.</p><p>"What is it?" he asked. Eve frowned.</p><p>"There's no fire," she answered. "Not even a whiff of smoke—how could there be an explosion without some kind of combustion?"</p><p>"It's magic," said Cassandra softly, a note of guilt in her voice. The other two turned and stared at her.</p><p>"Magic?" said Baird, not liking the feeling that was now filling her gut. Cassandra nodded.</p><p>"Magic," she affirmed, more boldly now. "The same kind as I was practicing in the lab when <em>it</em> exploded. Only this time I had better control of it, I was able to focus it more so that only the interrogation room was affected. Well…<em>mostly</em> the interrogation room." Baird and Jones exchanged quick, nervous glances.</p><p>"Okay, we don't have time for this right now," Eve said. "We'll deal with it back at the Annex later." She turned to Ezekiel.</p><p>"Jones, the breakroom?" The thief nodded, then turned to lead the women.</p><p>Within minutes, the three were there. Sure enough, there was a small kitchenette attached to the large dining area, complete with a gas stove and a microwave. Eve turned to the Australian.</p><p>"Okay, Jones; what do we do?" she asked. He pointed to the small sink and the cabinet underneath.</p><p>"Cassandra, check under there and see if there's anything in an aerosol can. Doesn't matter what it is, just that it's in a spray can." He then waved at Baird to follow him. "Help me pull the stove out from the wall!"</p><p>"Why are we pulling it out from the wall?" asked Eve as she hurried over to help the Librarian maneuver the stove out of its space. "Can't we just blow out the pilot lights or something?" Jones gave her a sour look as they heaved the stove out from the wall.</p><p>"Modern gas stoves don't use open pilot lights anymore," he said. "They have safety valves and electric ignition switches on them, basically to keep them from doing what we're trying to make this one do right now—flood the room with gas and then set it off!"</p><p>As soon as there was space enough, Jones climbed behind the stove and located the gas line. He reached into his jeans and pulled out a Swiss army-style knife.</p><p>"I found a couple of cans of disinfectant!" said Cassandra, rushing over with the cans clutched to her chest.</p><p>"Aces!" called out Ezekiel as he strained to loosen the connector with the knife's small wrench. With a string of rather colorful, distinctly Australian epithets at the connector nut's stubbornness, it finally gave way unexpectedly, causing Ezekiel to scrape his knuckles. With more curses, he shoved the knife back into his pocket, then quickly finished unscrewing the connector. Gas began softly hissing from the line as soon as the connector was freed from the back of the stove.</p><p>"Right!" exclaimed Jones, scrambling back from the behind the stove. "Gimme the cans!" He took the spray cans from Cassandra and ran to the microwave. He popped the door open and shoved them inside, slammed the door shut, then set the microwave to "cook" the cans on its highest setting. He set the timer for sixty minutes, then hit "start".</p><p>"<em>Everybody</em> out of the pool!" he yelled, heading for the hallway without looking back. Cassandra and Eve were right behind him.</p><p>The trio ran as fast as they could along the hallway to the nearest stairwell, all of them hurrying down the multiple flights of concrete steps as fast as they could make their feet move, and made to the ground level in a matter of minutes. All of them breathing hard, they pounded through the ground level maze of hallways to the front entrance of the building. Without slowing, Jones straight-armed the door's crashbar, then held it open just long enough the women to burst through the doorway and into the parking lot. He turned and followed them, Librarians and Guardian running flat out in order to get as far away from the doomed warehouse as they could.</p><p>They managed to clear the gravel parking lot and struggled to get up the small rise and into the treeline. They could hear sirens wailing loudly, only seconds away. Eve dived into the cover of the small shrubs and trees first, followed by Ezekiel. Cassandra came in last, and Ezekiel reached out and forcibly dragged the brightly-clothed woman into the bushes just as the first police cars rounded the corner of the warehouse, lights flashing and sirens keening.</p><p>The cars skidded to a halt, the police officers jumping out of them before they even came to a complete stop. As they rushed toward the entrance, part of the warehouse suddenly erupted into a huge fireball, followed by thick black smoke belching from shattering windows and doors. The officers ducked, then turned tail and ran, past their cruisers and away from the building. A fire engine, leading a parade of emergency vehicles, pulled up almost immediately and screeched to a stop when the building exploded, nearly causing a pileup of various vehicles.</p><p>First responders piled out of their engines, cars and ambulances, chaos reigning as men and women began shouting orders and instructions. From inside the warehouse, another explosion sounded. Eve, hunkered down behind the bushes and watching, turned to the Librarians. She instantly noticed that Cassandra looked abnormally pale, almost as if she was about to pass out.</p><p>"You okay, Cassandra?" she asked. Cassandra looked at her and smiled weakly, nodding her head.</p><p>"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured the Guardian. "Just feeling a little tired and light-headed. All that concentration, I guess." Eve nodded in acknowledgement, then turned to Ezekiel.</p><p>"Jones, when we get back to the Annex can you hack into DOSA's servers again and wipe them clean? Give them virus or malware or something that'll remove any trace of the Library and us from their records?" The Australian flashed her a smug grin.</p><p>"Already done!" he said. "Last time I was in there I planted a <em>beautiful</em> little Time Bomb that I set to go off exactly…" He quickly checked his watch. "Ten minutes ago—<em>after</em> I downloaded a copy for the Library first, of course!"</p><p>"Good work, Jones!" Eve looked back at the burning warehouse as yet another explosion rumbled from deep inside the earth.</p><p><em>There goes DOSA's secret 'Library'</em> she thought with no little satisfaction. <em>And, hopefully, with their servers gone that should set DOSA back at least a few decades and give the Library some breathing room.</em></p><p>"Well, as far as distractions go, this one certainly got the job done!" Eve said soberly. "Time to get out of here while the gettin's good!"</p><p>The three of them scrambled to their feet and began running again, this time in the direction of the abandoned convenience store, and of home.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Friends to Enemies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eve, Ezekiel and Cassandra hit the Back Door at a full run, nearly piling up onto each other as they each stumbled wildly over the threshold. All three breathed a sigh of relief as the double-doors swung protectively closed behind them. The Guardian looked around the workroom and quickly spied Estrella sitting at Baird's desk, playing with something small, gray and furry. As soon as Ezekiel saw Estrella, he scowled and jogged straight towards the corridor.</p>
<p>"I'm gonna go check out the local news and see what they're saying about what happened at the warehouse," he called out, disappearing before Eve could stop him. She rolled her eyes at the thief's stubbornness and turned back to Estrella.</p>
<p>"Is that a <em>rat</em>…?!" she exclaimed as she strode over to the where the vampire was sitting. Estrella looked up and smiled shyly.</p>
<p>"The rat from the warehouse. <em>Sí</em>," she admitted. "It's the one that that DOSA man was going to use to torture poor Jenkins. I've named him Fortunado—it means 'lucky one'." Cassandra came up beside Eve and stared at her friend in disbelief.</p>
<p>"How could you bring that thing in here after what it almost did to Jenkins?" she demanded angrily. "You have no idea how upset he'll be if he sees it!"</p>
<p>"Actually, I do know, <em>hermana</em>," Estrella answered calmly. "Jenkins told me all about what happened with Matthew Hopkins when you came to the spa last year." Estrella narrowed her eyes reprovingly. "Please give me <em>some</em> credit for being attentive to the needs of others, Cassandra; I would never be so cruel as to be in the same room with him while holding a rat!" Cassandra dropped her eyes, chastened.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry, Estrella," she said contritely. "I guess I'm just a little on edge right now."</p>
<p>"It's all right," the vampire assured her with a smile. "When I saw poor Fortunado here, I just couldn't leave the little fellow behind to perish so terribly. He had no say in how he was used by that Linsky pig, after all. It didn't seem fair to lump him in with all of that DOSA scum!" She lifted the wriggling rat and gave him a tiny kiss on his nose.</p>
<p>"Besides—I don't care to get bitten again by that little dragon of Jenkins's!" she laughed good-naturedly.</p>
<p>"Speaking of which," cut in Baird. "Where <em>is</em> Jenkins? And Stone?"</p>
<p>"I came in just after they did," said Estrella. "Mr. Stone said he was taking Jenkins straight to the infirmary." She stood up from her chair, still cuddling the rat, and approached Cassandra.</p>
<p>"If you no longer need me now, <em>hermana</em>, I'll be heading back to the spa," she said, anxious to be safely ensconced in her home in Charleston before anyone discovered what had happened to Linsky. Cassandra put her hand on her friend's arm, her face registering disappointment.</p>
<p>"Do you have to go right now?" she said. Estrella nodded her head and gave her a slightly sad smile.</p>
<p>"I'm afraid so," she answered, holding up the softly squeaking rat. "Fortunado needs some medical attention, and I probably shouldn't be away from the spa longer than absolutely necessary. Plus, as you say, it wouldn't do for Jenkins to accidentally run into this little one!" Estrella nodded at a large, leather-bound book sitting next to a battered briefcase on the desk.</p>
<p>"I grabbed those for you when I went in for Linsky; I thought perhaps that the Library would want them." Baird opened the cover of the book and looked at the title page.</p>
<p>"The memoir of Matthew Hopkins?" she wondered aloud, a puzzled look on her face as she began to close the book. Cassandra turned to vampire, gratitude shining in her eyes.</p>
<p>"Thank you, Estrella!" the Librarian exclaimed in a heartfelt voice.</p>
<p>"There's lots of stuff in that briefcase about all of you and the Library—files and papers and pictures. There's something in particular that I think you should read, Colonel Baird," Estrella said quietly. She walked over to the desk and pulled out a sheet of paper with DOSA's letterhead across the top. She handed it to Eve, then went back to her friend.</p>
<p>As Estrella chatted with Cassandra, Eve began reading what was typewritten on the paper. Her blue eyes widened in surprise as she realized that it was an inter-office memo from DOSA addressed to Sam Linsky. Her expression turned to one of puzzlement; the memo contained orders for Linsky—orders to capture Jenkins and to interrogate him. There was permission to remove the Memoirs of Mathew Hopkins from DOSA's secured storage vault. Linsky also had carte blanche permission to use whatever methods he felt were needed in order to get information from Jenkins—short of physical torture. Linsky was reminded that Jenkins was also to be used as bait to lure the Librarians and Eve into the warehouse for capture, but again—it was explicitly stated that no one was to be physically harmed if at all possible. Eve's eyes rushed to the bottom of the document to see who had signed off on these orders. Her heart stopped dead in her chest when she saw the signature and title of the sender.</p>
<p>Baird dropped the memo onto the desk and began pawing through the contents of the briefcase. There were dossiers on herself, Jenkins and all of the Librarians. There were more memos, surveillance photos, reports, and assessment reports. The information all appeared to be at least two or three years old, but it was still unsettling to see.</p>
<p>"Thank you, Estrella," Baird finally murmured shakily, looking up from the desk. "I…I'm sure the Library—and Jenkins—will be glad to have all of this out of DOSA's hands…"</p>
<p>"You're welcome, <em>hermana</em>!" Estrella turned to Cassandra and leaned forward to give both of her cheeks a kiss and a one-armed hug in farewell.</p>
<p>"Go and be with your husband," Estrella concluded their chat warmly, while Eve numbly folded up the memo and shoved it into her pocket. "Tell him good-bye for me and that I wish him a speedy recovery. And I hope you two will come to South Carolina soon for another visit, too!"</p>
<p>"We will; I promise!" replied Cassandra. Estrella shook Eve's hand on the way to the Back Door with her friend, and the Librarian set the coordinates for her. Estrella gave one final grin and wave to Cassandra and Eve as she stepped through the doorway, holding Fortunado close against her chest.</p>
<p>As the doors swung closed, Cassandra turned and noticed how pale Eve's face was.</p>
<p>"Are you okay?" she asked the Guardian. Eve forced a smile to her face and nodded.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired," she lied. "Let's go see how Jenkins is doing."</p>
<p>Cassandra walked quickly with Eve to the Library Infirmary. They found the boys gathered around one of the hospital-style beds there, an exhausted Jenkins propped upright on it and looking as though he was holding court. Now that he was cleaned up, Eve was finally able to take in fully the extent of his visible injuries; she shuddered at the thought of the injuries she couldn't see.</p>
<p>"Jenkins!" Cassandra cried as she rushed to him. He smiled at her as best he could with his bruised and swollen mouth, his arms held out to her; both wrists were bandaged and his cut forearm was stitched and dressed up to his elbow. Cassandra immediately felt something—<em>off</em>. She couldn't put her finger on it, but just for an instant, she felt something coming from the immortal that felt like…fear? Hesitation? Disapproval?</p>
<p>She mentally shoved the disturbing feeling away as she eagerly, but gently, slipped her arms around her husband, but the uneasy feeling wasn't so easily forgotten; in fact, it intensified the closer she drew to him. Cassandra thought she felt him actually cringe at her touch, but she stubbornly dismissed it. He'd just taken a terrible beating; it was only pain that made him flinch away from her.</p>
<p><em>Or</em>, an insidious voice whispered to her, <em>perhaps it's his instinctual fear of the Old Magic that you carry! </em>He <em>had</em> just witnessed a rather frightening demonstration of it, and in complete truth, Cassandra herself was also a little frightened by what she had done. It had happened so quickly, so effortlessly—she didn't even have to think about it this time, really, it just…<em>happened</em>. She could understand a bit better now why he might be wary of anyone who could wield such power, even her. But, at the same time, she wasn't just <em>anyone</em>; she was his wife, <em>and</em> a Librarian. He had no reason to fear her. She could control this Magic; all she needed was practice, and someone knowledgeable enough to teach her about it—someone like Jenkins.</p>
<p>"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" she asked, pulling back and looking into his tired eyes. She could tell that he was in a great deal of pain, but was trying to hide it from her.</p>
<p>"I'm sure I look much worse than I feel," he answered stoically. Cassandra thought his voice had an odd undercurrent to it.</p>
<p>"I wish you hadn't been so reckless, though, my dear," he went on. "You took a terrible gamble coming into DOSA's territory like that all alone. You should've waited for Colonel Baird and the others!" There was no mistaking the cold, reproachful tone in his voice now.</p>
<p>"I wasn't alone!" she answered, hurt by his displeasure. "Estrella was with me; she helped me find you and get you out of there. And <em>you're welcome</em>, by the way!" She was astonished when, instead of an apology for his churlishness and ingratitude, Jenkins only doubled-down on his criticism.</p>
<p>"Estrella!" he scoffed sourly, wincing at the pain in his side. "You're lucky that Linsky's people didn't capture <em>both</em> of you! What a prize a live vampire would've been for DOSA, especially one that can move about freely during daylight hours, even if only temporarily!" The immortal carefully adjusted his position on the bed as he continued his quiet tirade. Cassandra stared at him, her mouth hanging slightly open in shock. Sensing another lovers' quarrel on the horizon, Eve quietly began shooing a puzzled Jake and Ezekiel out of the infirmary.</p>
<p>"Estrella's gone back to Charleston," she muttered as she shepherded the two young men toward the door. "Let's go let check on Franklin; I bet he's ready to get out of that lab by now!" She silently closed the door behind them.</p>
<p>"I don't believe you!" Cassandra exclaimed, not even seeing the retreating figures. "I risked my <em>life</em> to save you! Estrella risked <em>her</em> life to save you—we <em>all</em> risked our lives and all you can do is complain and scold me, like I was a child?!" Jenkins pressed his lips together and looked away for a moment.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry, Cassandra," he said stiffly. "I certainly don't mean to give the impression that I'm not grateful; I <em>am</em> grateful, very much so. It's just that…I wish you <em>hadn't</em>…" He paused as he tried to find the right words.</p>
<p>"You wish that I hadn't used magic to get you out!" Cassandra finished tartly. "Or, more specifically, that I hadn't used the <em>Old Magic</em> to get you out—'cause the Old Magic is <em>evil</em> and <em>scary</em> and the sky might actually fall if anyone tries to use it!" She slid off of the edge of the bed and stood facing him.</p>
<p>"I don't believe this!" she muttered and rolled her eyes. She almost said something else sharp and critical of her own, about how maybe Flynn wasn't so wrong after all when he had referred to Jenkins as an "overgrown Chicken Little" while the Librarian was under the influence of the Apple of Discord. She resisted <em>that</em> urge, but indulged a different one.</p>
<p>"You would rather that I'd left you there all alone and let that creep turn that rat loose on you?" she demanded harshly. "Or maybe I should've just let him abuse you in the same way Hopkins's men did?" She was sadistically gratified to see a flash of humiliation in his eyes just before he dropped his gaze and a mask of indifference hid his inner thoughts and feelings from her.</p>
<p>"Of course not," he replied coolly, but Cassandra could see that she'd hurt him—again. A stab of remorse wiped any sign of triumph from her face.</p>
<p>"Jenkins, I'm sorry," she said quietly, reaching out to take his hand. "I shouldn't have said that; it was mean and petty and I'm sorry!" She squeezed his hand; he reached his other hand across to lay it on top her hers. He squeezed her hand back and forced a smile, but he never looked up at her and didn't say anything.</p>
<p>"Are you ready to go back to our room now?" she asked after a couple of minutes of awkward silence. She went to help him up from the bed, but Jenkins held his hand up and shook his head.</p>
<p>"I… I think it might be best if I slept here tonight," he said, still refusing to meet her gaze. Cassandra froze, unable to believe her ears. Surely he didn't mean that he wanted to spend this first night after his harrowing ordeal alone, and separated from her!</p>
<p>"Oh! Okay, that's okay! It's…it's probably better for you not to move around too much anyway, with all those injuries and everything!" she said, the words rushing from her in a clumsy stream. "I can make myself a bed here and stay with you so…"</p>
<p>"No, Cassandra," he said flatly. She stopped talking and gaped at him.</p>
<p>"I want to sleep here <em>alone</em> tonight," he said, his voice emotionless, his eyes firmly fixed on his hands clasped tightly in his lap. He turned his head slightly toward her, but his gaze stayed down. "I… I just think it would be the best arrangement for both of us right now. You would have a hard time getting to sleep here, in a strange place. You need as much rest as I do at the moment; you've been through quite a lot today yourself, after all." He lay back against the bed and closed his eyes.</p>
<p>"That potion Mr. Stone gave me is beginning to take effect now; if you would be so kind as to turn off the lights as you leave…?"</p>
<p>The tone of his voice told her very clearly that he was done speaking to her. Stung by the icy dismissal, Cassandra turned around and ran from the infirmary before he could see the tears building in her eyes and spilling onto her cheeks. In a final act of pique, she intentionally left the lights on as she hurried through the door and into the hallway outside.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Eve, dressed in pajamas, robe and huge, fuzzy lilac-colored slippers, shuffled sleepily along the hallway and into the kitchen to start her day with a hot cup of coffee. She pushed the door open and clomped softly inside, then halted in surprise. Cassandra was already inside, sitting dejectedly at the small kitchen table and still wearing the same clothes she'd had on yesterday. The table was covered with crumpled tissues.</p>
<p><em>Uh-oh</em> she thought. <em>This </em><em><strong>can't</strong></em><em> be good.</em></p>
<p>"Cassandra?" she called, cautious as she walked over to the table and pulled out a chair for herself. "Are you all right? What's happened?" Cassandra looked up at the Guardian as she straightened up in her seat. It looked to Eve as though Cassandra hadn't slept all night; her face was pale and puffy, her eyes red-rimmed and tired-looking.</p>
<p>"There's something wrong with Jenkins," the upset woman said simply, staring down at a twisted, torn tissue in her hands. "I don't know what, exactly, but there's just….<em>something</em> wrong." Eve sat down and leaned towards Cassandra.</p>
<p>"What do you mean by 'wrong'?" she asked. "Physically? Mentally?" Cassandra gave a tiny shake of her head and looked up to meet Baird's gaze.</p>
<p>"I don't know, I'm not sure," she answered, her voice slightly rough from crying. "He wouldn't come back to our room last night; he said he wanted to be alone." She shook her head again and began to twist the tissue in her hands.</p>
<p>"He was so distant when we got back from the warehouse, Eve, so cold! It was like he couldn't stand the sight of me, like he just wanted to get as far away from me as possible!" She dropped her head, fighting back a fresh onslaught of tears. Softly sighing to herself, Eve let her shoulders drop as she reached out to touch Cassandra's knee.</p>
<p>"Cassandra, he's been through hell," she began gently. "He took a terrible beating, he was threatened with the thing he fears the most, he was afraid for you and Estrella, he had to fight off Linsky after he attacked you and nearly killed him—the whole time he was in their custody Jenkins was probably worried about DOSA getting its hands on <em>you</em>. Then you show up and blow up a building with your…mind or…your magic, or however you did that! He's in shock right now, he's trying to sort it all out in his mind, and that's going to take some time. I'm sure it's nothing personal!" Cassandra listened quietly as Eve spoke, but began shaking her head again towards the end of the speech.</p>
<p>"No; no, this is different," she protested. "I felt it, Eve, in here!" The Librarian laid one hand on her torso, slightly higher than her midsection. "I felt…fear coming from him. Or disgust or confusion or something like that." She waved her hands in frustration as she struggled to find the right descriptors. "I can't pinpoint it, exactly. Just that something is <em>wrong</em> with him."</p>
<p>"Why would Jenkins feel disgusted with you?" questioned Baird, settling into her chair. <em>So much for coffee</em> she thought. "He loves you! He <em>adores</em> you! He nearly strangled Linsky to death to protect you! And he would never have gone through with your Sealing if he'd had any kind of doubts about you!"</p>
<p>"That happened before he found out about the Old Magic," said Cassandra tensely. "I told you about what Charlene and Mr. Judson and that stupid Heart of Sorrow said when I was in the 1912 Library."</p>
<p>Eve nodded her head. It was an astounding story Cassandra had told them all at the debriefing, and Eve still had some trouble believing that the normally bubbly Librarian actually carried within her something as powerful and frightening as 'primordial magic'. But Eve had also been with the Library long enough now that she knew better than to dismiss such things out of hand.</p>
<p>"But surely Jenkins doesn't hold that against you?" she persisted. "It's not that much different than your abilities with mathematics, is it?"</p>
<p>"But that's just it," Cassandras snorted. "It really <em>isn't</em> all that different, but he doesn't seem to want to accept that!" She paused a moment, as if thinking about something, then took a quick breath.</p>
<p>"Charlene told me that…that it was the Old Magic that destroyed Camelot, that it caused the death of King Arthur and almost all of the knights. She told me that Jenkins is afraid of the Magic, and he hates it because of what it did to Camelot. She said that he just needs time to come to terms with it and that he would end up being on my side and be supportive and everything, but…" She dropped her eyes and shrugged her shoulders.</p>
<p>"He doesn't seem to be coming around at all. I thought he was, earlier. But now, after this DOSA mess, I'm afraid that he's <em>really</em> going to put his foot down and try to make me give it up, or repress it or…or whatever." She looked up again, her blue eyes watering.</p>
<p>"But I <em>can't</em> give it up, Eve, I just can't! It's part of who I am! But I'm afraid if I don't do what he wants, he's going to…" A harsh sob broke from her throat, and Cassandra bent nearly double in her chair under the weight of her unhappiness, the ragged tissue pressed to her nose. Eve pulled a fresh tissue from the box on the table and scooted her chair forward.</p>
<p>"Here," she said quietly, holding the tissue out in her hand. Snuffling, Cassandra sat up, tears running down her face again, and gratefully exchanged tissues.</p>
<p>"Thanks," she whispered. The Guardian was about to ask her friend more about this Old Magic and what exactly Jenkins had said about it, but just as she opened her mouth, the sound of her cell phone's ringer spilled from the pocket of her robe. With a mental curse, she quickly dug it out; her attitude changed when she saw the name of the person calling her.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry, Cass," she said sincerely, standing up. She reached out and began rubbing Cassandra's shoulder comfortingly. "I have to take care of something. Why don't you go to your room and get some sleep, huh? You look like you need some right now. We can talk some more about this later, after you've gotten some rest. Okay?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, okay," the Librarian agreed sullenly, not noticing her friend's stony expression. She stood up and started to gather the tissues.</p>
<p>"I'll get these," Eve insisted quickly, setting her phone on the table, making sure the screen was face down. "Go to bed—that's an order!" Eve made a show of gathering up the used tissues and carrying them over the trashcan. Cassandra smiled weakly before turning and heading out of the kitchen for the bedroom she usually shared with Jenkins.</p>
<p>As soon as Cassandra was gone, Eve snatched up her phone and looked at the screen again, her eyes becoming hard. She sucked a deep breath of air and exhaled it, then hit the button to return the call.</p>
<hr/>
<p>This time it was Eve who entered the coffee shop and quickly scanned the tables and booths for a familiar face. Within seconds, she had spotted it—General Cynthia Rockwell, in a far corner booth, absentmindedly sipping coffee from a large, off-white stoneware mug. Eve got the attention of a passing waitress and asked a coffee of her own, then quickly marched across the large dining area. She stared daggers at Rockwell as she slipped into the seat across the table from her longtime mentor and friend.</p>
<p>"Eve!" Rockwell greeted her pleasantly. "I wasn't expecting you to get here so fast. But then, I keep forgetting about that so-called 'magic door' or yours."</p>
<p>"I should kill you right here, right now!" the blonde woman hissed, infuriated.</p>
<p>"Fortunately for me, I taught you better than that," commented the older woman drily. "You would never do something as stupid as that in a place like this. Besides, I have men in here; you'd never leave here alive even if you <em>did</em> try something." She raised her cup in a silent salute.</p>
<p>"You wanna bet?" Eve smirked coldly in response. She started to lean forward, but the waitress suddenly appeared with her coffee and set it down on the table in front of her. As Eve looked up at her, the waitress discreetly slipped her hand into the pocket of her apron and pulled out just enough of her service weapon to silently warn the Guardian.</p>
<p>"Getcha anything else this morning, hon?" she asked solicitously. Eve shook her head stiffly.</p>
<p>"No, coffee's fine, thanks." The waitress smiled and left the table as though everything was normal. Baird pushed the cup out of her way and leaned forward again.</p>
<p>"You <em>played</em> me!" she snapped, her voice low and angry. "You <em>never</em> left DOSA! You <em>lied</em> to me! Why? What was the point of all of this? What did you get out of it?" Rockwell set her coffee down with a sharp thud, nearly sloshing the cup's contents onto the table.</p>
<p>"You killed a squad of my men," she said tersely, her eyes boring hotly into Baird's.</p>
<p>"It wasn't intentional," countered Eve. The general cut her off before she could say anything more.</p>
<p>"Linsky's throat was all but ripped out, Eve! How can that possibly be anything <em>but</em> intentional?!" Eve stared, speechless, taken aback by the news.</p>
<p>"What are you talking about?" she asked. "He was hurt, yeah, but we didn't…" Baird fell silent as she suddenly realized who was responsible for Linsky's death. She fell back against the seat and sighed.</p>
<p>"I see," she whispered. Rockwell instantly read the truth in her protégé's reaction.</p>
<p>"Seems you have a rogue agent in your organization," commented Rockwell in a bitter voice. "Same as I do—or <em>did</em>, anyway."</p>
<p>"I didn't know anything about this, I swear," said Eve, sitting forward again. "I never ordered anyone to kill him!"</p>
<p>Rockwell shook her head and frowned. "It's a shame, really; he was one of my best men." She shook her head and looked away from Eve as she drew a deep breath and adjusted her seat in the booth.</p>
<p>"He was a sociopath!" spat Baird angrily as she recovered from the shock of hearing about Linsky's death. "After what he did to Jenkins, I wish I'd let him twist Linsky's head completely off!"</p>
<p>Rockwell shook her head a second time. "You would never have done that, Eve. Linsky would have, but not you." The general absently turned the coffee cup on the table in front of her. Her sharp green eyes suddenly glanced up.</p>
<p>"What happened in that warehouse?"</p>
<p>"Gas explosion," answered Baird, carelessly shrugging her shoulders. "That's what I heard on the news last night. Ruptured gas main, ignited by accident, several warehouse workers tragically killed in the explosion." The Guardian leveled her unblinking gaze at Rockwell.</p>
<p>"I'm sure you've gotten a preliminary report by now. Linsky can fill you in on the details." A mock look of embarrassment came to Eve's face as her voice turned sarcastic. "Oh, right—sorry! Guess you'll just have to use your imagination, then."</p>
<p>"You put up a brave front, Eve," returned Rockwell tautly. "But I know for a fact that you don't like to take a life or cause harm if you can help it. That's why I could never recruit you to openly join the Department of Statistical Anomalies. You're still a valuable asset, but…you're too idealistic for DOSA. You would never be able to bring yourself to do the things that we need to do in order to keep this country safe."</p>
<p>"Like physical torture?" Eve hissed angrily, stung sharply by what she was hearing. "Like psychological torture? Like threatening a man with raping his wife in front of him unless he talks? Like lying to someone who calls you their friend and turning them into your stooge?"</p>
<p>"That was <em>never</em> Linsky's mission, I swear to you!" the general shot back defensively. "He was only supposed to interrogate Jenkins, get information."</p>
<p>"And use Jenkins as bait to lure the rest of us out and into a trap!" snarled Baird softly. She reached into the pocket of her shirt and pulled out the DOSA memo, tossed it across the table. The older woman looked at the folded sheet of paper impassively, but made no move to pick it up.</p>
<p>"Everything I told you was the truth, Eve," Rockwell said after a long pause. "The only part that wasn't true was about my being forced out of DOSA. A very <em>small</em> lie, comparatively speaking, don't you think?"</p>
<p>"I thought you were on <em>our</em> side!" said Eve, her eyes blazing. "I thought you were supposed to be helping us!"</p>
<p>"That's what you <em>wanted</em> to believe."</p>
<p>Eve threw herself back from the table and glared at the expressionless brown-skinned woman in front of her, speechless in the face of such hardness. Cynthia Rockwell had been the Guardian's mentor, was supposed to be her friend; Eve had literally risked her own life to save Rockwell's once. How could she now betray her trust so callously?</p>
<p>"So this was all about—what? Getting us, the people who work for the Library? You couldn't get the artifacts the last time, you couldn't get the Library itself, so you went after <em>us</em>, instead?"</p>
<p>"As I said, I didn't lie about everything, Eve. We really <em>are</em> interested in the immortal, and for all of the reasons I gave you," answered the general plainly with a small shrug of her shoulders. "Surely you didn't think the government would give up on obtaining a prize like that so easily, did you? Or that we would even give up on taking possession of the Library and its artifacts, for that matter?"</p>
<p>"You want the Library so badly that you would sacrifice our friendship?" demanded Baird. "I saved your <em>life</em>! Is this <em>really</em> how you're going to repay that? By betraying my trust and using me to get to my friends? By using me as...as...a 'back door' to get what you want when you couldn't get it the last time?" Eve shook her head, still unwilling to believe her friend could do such a thing. Rockwell regarded the younger woman for a moment, her eyes unreadable. The general then dropped her gaze and took another sip of her cold coffee.</p>
<p>"Yes," she replied bluntly, looking up again into Eve's startled blue eyes. "The bottom line is that I'm a soldier, Eve. And I'm a patriot. I love this country, and I will do <em>anything</em>, sacrifice <em>anything</em> or <em>anyone</em> to make sure that its safe and that our way of life is protected. I've been making such sacrifices all of my life, and I will continue to do so. Up to and including our friendship. "</p>
<p>Eve stared back, dumbfounded, unable to believe her ears. But the resolute, uncompromising expression on Cynthia Rockwell's face confirmed every word she had just spoken. As the truth sank in, Eve's heart and face hardened, her dismayed eyes now becoming hostile.</p>
<p>"Is that final?" she asked, her tone businesslike.</p>
<p>"It is," answered Rockwell, taking another sip of coffee. Eve leaned forward and looked directly into the general's eyes.</p>
<p>"Then you give this 'asset' no choice, General," she said, her voice low and vehement. "I'm a soldier, too. But more than that, I'm a <em>Guardian</em>! I love this country just as much as you do, but my first duty now is to the Library, and that means that <em>I</em> will sacrifice anything and <em>anyone</em> to make sure that its safe and that the entire world is protected from evil and powerful magic and anyone who would misuse it—even if that's the government of the United States!" She leaned back slowly in her seat and gave the woman across the table a barely-disguised look of contempt.</p>
<p>"Up to and including our friendship!" Eve scooted out of the booth and stood up, towering over Rockwell as she glared down at her. "If it's a war with the Library you want, General Rockwell, then that's what you'll get. I'd advise against it, though, because <em>that's</em> a war that you simply will not win, not on <em>my</em> watch!"</p>
<p>"I'm sorry for what happened to Jenkins and Cassandra, to all of you," said Rockwell, her tone softening as she turned her face to look steadily up at the angry Guardian. "I truly am. I don't want a war with the Library, but I <em>will</em> start one if I think I have no other choice."</p>
<p>Baird leaned over to make sure she was heard only by Rockwell.</p>
<p>"If you or any of your goons <em>ever</em> attack any of my people again, I will take that as a declaration of war," she whispered. "If you think you took heavy losses this time, you're in for a nasty surprise, because you haven't seen <em>anything</em> yet!" She stood and turned to leave, but halted, her back to the booth, when she heard the general speak.</p>
<p>"This is your last chance, Eve Baird—you walk through that door and we're through!" said Rockwell, her voice calm but menacing. "The next time we meet, no quarter will be given!"</p>
<p>Without so much as a glance backward, the Guardian of the Library squared her shoulders and strode away, the bell above the door jingling cheerfully as she left the coffee shop.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Tea for Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In a desultory mood, Cassandra pushed open the door to the bedroom and went inside. She had started to undress when she heard the sounds of movement coming from Jenkins's suite of rooms. She frowned, perplexed; Jenkins was still supposed to be in the infirmary, so who could be in his rooms? She quickly snatched up a heavy book from her nightstand and raised it high over her head as she tiptoed over and poked her head into his sitting room, but she saw nothing.</p><p>A rustling coming from his dressing room caught her ear. Cassandra, the book still high overhead, crept quietly across the large sitting room to the door of the dressing room and peeked carefully around its frame. She gasped, the book nearly slipping from her hands when she found it was Jenkins. After only twelve hours of rest, he already looked much better, but his face was still bruised and slightly puffy, and there were still white bandages wrapped snugly around both of his wrists. She noticed that he moved slowly and carefully as he placed items of clothing into a small open suitcase on a padded bench, and deduced that his ribs were still tender.</p><p>"What are you doing?" she blurted, moving into full view. Jenkins whirled around at the sound of her voice, a look of guilt on his face.</p><p>"Cassandra!" he exclaimed, suddenly nervous. "I didn't expect to see you—!"</p><p>"What are you doing?" she repeated, staring at the suitcase, then over at him. Jenkins couldn't meet her gaze.</p><p>"I…I did some thinking last night, after you left," he said. "I decided that…maybe it would be best if we spent a few days apart." Cassandra's mouth fell open and her eyes widened in astonishment.</p><p>"What?" she gasped. "What do you mean, 'a few days apart'?" Jenkins, brown eyes fixed on the floor at his feet, began running his hand nervously over the front of his shirt.</p><p>"I just need some time to think. About everything," he answered in a rush. "What happened to us with the Heart of Sorrow. About what's just happened now with DOSA…"</p><p>"About my magic, you mean!" cut in Cassandra acidly, and threw the book in her hands onto a nearby chair. Jenkins nodded his head, glancing up to meet her eyes briefly.</p><p>"In part, yes," he confessed.</p><p>"In <em>total</em>, you mean!" she accused, her voice betraying her anger and hurt. Her head fell back slightly as she looked up at the ceiling, her hands flapping in agitation.</p><p>"What is <em>wrong</em> with me?!" she said, almost as if talking to herself. She brought her head forward again and began pacing across the floor, her arms crossed over her stomach. "First, all the kids at school ran away from me because of my math abilities! Then, my parents ran away from me when they found out about my brain tumor!" Cassandra was near to tears by the time she finished her brief litany.</p><p>"Now my <em>husband</em> is running away from me because of my magic!" Jenkins stared back at her, stunned by her reaction.</p><p>"No, no, Cassandra!" he protested urgently. "I'm <em>not</em> running away from you! I just…"</p><p>"Just go!" shouted the upset Librarian, not hearing him anymore. "Don't you even <em>try</em> to lie to me about this! I don't want to be around anyone who doesn't want to be around me! I don't need this, and I don't need <em>you</em>!" Cassandra turned and ran from the room, trying hard not to burst into tears in front of Jenkins. A few seconds later, he heard the door to her suite of rooms slam closed.</p><p>The dismayed immortal stared at the open door of his dressing room for some time. He almost went after her to try and explain what he was thinking, but he decided that perhaps this sudden break between them was for the best. He would leave her a note, explaining that he wasn't leaving her permanently, or shunning her or abandoning her—he was just going away for a few days, just to sort things out in his mind. Surely she would understand that after she'd had some time to think about it.</p><p>After a quick, deep breath, Jenkins went back to packing the waiting suitcase.</p><hr/><p>Eve Baird burst through the Back Door and nearly broke her neck tripping over a suitcase that had been left sitting on the floor smack dab in front of the magic door.</p><p>"Jesus Christ!" Already in a foul mood after her meeting with Rockwell, Eve swore loudly, barely managing to keep her balance as she stumbled, her arms pin-wheeling wildly. "Who left this damn thing here?!" Jenkins suddenly hurried past her and grabbed the suitcase to belatedly move it out of her way.</p><p>"My apologies, Colonel!" he offered in a slightly flustered tone. "I'm afraid it's mine—so sorry!" Eve turned around and looked at him, confused.</p><p>"Why do you have a suitcase?" she asked, a bad feeling forming in her stomach. "And better yet, why are you out of bed so soon? You need rest!"</p><p>"I'm well enough for what I have to do, Colonel," he answered briskly after setting the suitcase in front of the globe that housed the mechanism for the Back Door. He returned to his desk and picked up a pen, resumed writing something on a sheet of paper.</p><p>"And just what is it that you need to do?" she inquired warily, approaching the front of his high desk.</p><p>"Nothing for you to worry about," he answered evasively without looking up for his note. "Just a little 'errand', if you will." Suspecting that there was more trouble brewing between Jenkins and Cassandra, Eve groaned and pressed the heels of her hands into her eye sockets. <em>This is so NOT a good time for more of their drama! </em>she grumbled to herself</p><p>"<em>Godammit</em>, Jenkins! Can you just give me a straight answer for once!" she nearly shouted in frustration. The Caretaker looked up from his note and stared at her, blinking in surprise at her outburst. His brow then furrowed in consternation.</p><p>"There's no need for profanity, Colonel Baird," he said, affronted. He started to say something especially snarky, but he stopped himself when he saw how upset the normally collected Guardian was. He put down his pen and came out from behind his desk again.</p><p>"Are you all right?" he asked, concern replacing his irritation. She shook her head, half-laughing, half-groaning.</p><p>"Oh, I'm just <em>peachy</em>, Jenkins!" she finally answered in disgust. "I just had a little chat with General Cynthia Rockwell. Turns out <em>she</em> was the one behind all of this from the beginning—the whole thing was a set-up, a trick, a trap!" She went on to give Jenkins a quick rundown on everything that had happened after both of them had been attacked outside of the Annex. Jenkins listened quietly, stone-faced.</p><p>"And now I find out that she just…<em>used</em>me, <em>used</em> our friendship, to get to you and the Library and the Librarians!" she finished. She rubbed both hands over her tired face.</p><p>"She <em>used</em> me," Baird repeated, and Jenkins could hear the pain in her voice. "Like all of those years together meant nothing to her!"</p><p>"You've known General Rockwell a long time?" asked Jenkins after a pause. Eve walked over and dropped into a chair.</p><p>"She became my CO—my commanding officer—not long after I joined the army," Eve said sadly, looking down at the floor. She was silent for a moment before she snorted softly and shook her head before looking up at the Caretaker.</p><p>"I know it sounds weird, Jenkins, but—my dad died not long after I enlisted. He wasn't around to show me the ropes of military life or to guide me or to give me any advice. But Cynthia was there. She wasn't a general then, of course, but for some reason she just kinda took me under her wing. Even as we both moved up through the ranks, she kept teaching me how to navigate the system and protocols for everything in the military, taught me how to deal with the harassment I got from the male soldiers and the officers, taught me how to <em>be</em> a soldier. She even helped me to get into the training program for the NATO Counter-Terrorism Task Force—though she admitted during the Apep thing that that was part of her plan for infiltrating the Library. She used me a sleeper agent for that, but I forgave her. I gave her the benefit of the doubt then, just figured she didn't really understand what the Library was all about back then." She turned and swept her hand to take in the workroom. "If it hadn't been for her, I probably wouldn't be a Guardian right now! I wouldn't be here, in the Library, at all!" She dropped her head again and heaved a deep sigh.</p><p>"But, turns out it was <em>all</em> just a scam," she said quietly. "I trusted her, but she was just setting me up, grooming me, plotting and arranging things so that one day she could use me to get to the Library. And it was the same story <em>this</em> time, too." Baird leaned forward and placed her elbows on the edge of Jenkins's desk, then buried her face in her hands. "I thought she was my friend; I thought she cared about me!"</p><p>Jenkins stood motionless and watched her quietly for a moment after she was finished speaking, then walked over and lightly laid a large hand on her shoulder before he walked over to pull two chairs over for them and sat down. He waved a hand at the other chair in invitation.</p><p>"I'm very sorry, Eve," he said, his voice low and commiserating as she sat down across from him. "It…<em>hurts</em>. It hurts a great deal…when someone you've looked up to for a long time is suddenly revealed to have feet of clay." Eve raised her head and dropped her hands, nodded.</p><p>"Yeah," she agreed dully. "It does." The Guardian cocked her head as she gazed at the somber-looking man.</p><p>"Seems to me you've had some first-hand experience with that yourself, recently, with Sir Bedivere," she said, remembering the team's brush the previous year with the former Knight of the Round Table who had turned so horribly evil. Jenkins gave her a small nod of his head and looked down.</p><p>"Yes, well," muttered the Caretaker. "If I've learned one thing over the centuries, it's that people change. Sometimes for the better; usually for the worst." He was surprised to hear soft laughter from the Guardian.</p><p>"Now <em>there's</em> the patented 'Jenkins Pep Talk' I was hoping for!" she said ruefully, smiling just a bit. A connection made itself all of a sudden in her brain as she adjusted her seat in the chair. She leaned back and crossed her arms and cocked her head again.</p><p>"Seems to me that <em>that</em> falling out was over magic, as well," Baird observed, grateful to have something to puzzle over that took her mind off of her issues with Cynthia Rockwell. Jenkins fidgeted uncomfortably in his chair.</p><p>"In part, yes," he admitted, not really wanting to talk about such a painful topic. "Outside of Arthur, Bedivere was the closest thing I had to a…a father figure after I came to court."</p><p>"What was that like?" Eve suddenly asked, genuinely curious. Jenkins rarely spoke of his youth to anyone other than Cassandra, and even with her he was reticent. Baird expected the old immortal to dissemble and evade such a direct and personal question, but to her surprise, he answered it with candor.</p><p>"I was only fourteen when arrived in Camelot," he said quietly. "Up to that point, my entire life had been spent surrounded by women—first with my mother and a nurse in exile, then in a convent run by my mother's grand-aunt. My entire childhood was spent in solitude and quiet; it was quite a culture shock when I suddenly found myself surrounded by full-grown men—all of them blooded, worldly-wise warriors. Lancelot knighted me and brought me to court, but he wasn't the best role model for such a clueless, innocent boy, either." He was lost for a moment in the memories that sprang to mind—the taunts, the hazing, the rejection and isolation. He quickly shoved them away; they had no bearing on Colonel Baird's current problem.</p><p>"But, that's neither here nor there!" he said dismissively and stood up.</p><p>"I think it is," said Eve, and Jenkins stopped, turned his head to look down at her.</p><p>"I beg your pardon?"</p><p>"I think it's totally connected to what you're doing right now with Cassandra," Eve continued steadily. "You're afraid of the magic she has inside of her. You think it's going to end up destroying her—and maybe destroy the Library, too, just the way Camelot was destroyed by magic. The same kind of magic that Sir Bedivere played with?" The knight's eyes narrowed with contempt.</p><p>"The 'magic' he played with was little more than the silly tricks one sees at a children's birthday party compared to what Cassandra carries," he growled. "And yes, I <em>do</em> fear her magic! Because Bedivere fell so easily and so completely under the spell of <em>his</em> magic—he was corrupted so thoroughly and irredeemably; how much <em>more</em> vulnerable is Cassandra to the powerful Old Magic within her? Once she starts down that path, Colonel, there is <em>no</em> going back!"</p><p>"So now you're going to just leave her all alone, then?" Eve demanded a little too curtly. "Go 'find yourself' while she tries to figure out all of this on her own, 'cause you just don't want to have to deal with it?" She moved to stand directly in front of Jenkins and looked straight into his eyes. "That way, when she makes a mistake and somebody gets hurt or even killed, you can have the luxury of telling yourself 'It's not my fault, I wasn't even there when it happened!'?"</p><p>"That is <em>not</em> what I'm doing!" Jenkins snapped, stung by the Guardian's not so subtle accusation of cowardice. He took a few paces away from the Guardian. "I'm not going away forever; I just need a few days…"</p><p>"But Cassandra needs you <em>now</em>!" Eve cut in, going over to place herself in front of the much larger Caretaker again. "Since when does a knight just cut bait and run away like this? What happened to your duty to chivalry and…and…risking your life to help the damsel in distress?! When did you stop doing that, Jenkins? We know when Bedivere stopped, but when did <em>you</em> stop being a Knight of the Round Table?" The immortal glared at Baird.</p><p>"Colonel, you don't understand the magnitude—"</p><p>"I understand it perfectly!" she interrupted. "Cassandra told me <em>all</em> about the Old Magic, Jenkins, everything—though why you two didn't do that during the debriefing we had after you returned from 1912, I can't even begin to guess!" Eve said peevishly. "She also told me a little bit about how stand-offish you've been with her lately," she continued, becoming more impatient with the whole situation as she spoke.</p><p>"Do you have <em>any</em> idea at all how much you keep hurting her, Jenkins? She loves you! She trusts you! She's proven time and again that she'll do anything for you—for God's sake, she's literally <em>killed</em> for you!" Eve threw her hands into the air, exasperated.</p><p>"And now you're running away from her—<em>again</em>—like she has a plague or something, just because she suddenly has this…this…<em>gift</em> that makes her different from everyone else! What more does she have to do to prove herself to you, Jenkins?! Get a lobotomy? Become a mindless vegetable, that way you'll never have to wrry about her ever again?!"</p><p>
  <em>Now my <strong>husband</strong> is running away from me because of my magic!</em>
</p><p>Jenkins drew in a sharp breath as he heard his wife's words again, and realized that she had been right all along: He <em>was running</em> away from her. He was doing exactly what he always did whenever circumstances in his life became too uncomfortable to face head on: Run away. Just like all of the other people in her life that Cassandra had rightfully expected to be there for her when she most needed them, but who instead let her down in the end. He was on the very edge of betraying her trust in him because Eve Baird was right—he <em>didn't</em> want to deal with the Old Magic she carried. He <em>was</em> a coward, and the knight still inside of him was appalled by that. Jenkins turned and quickly walked over to where his suitcase awaited him and snatched it up.</p><p>"If you'll excuse me, Colonel Baird," he said somberly as he passed her on his way to the corridor leading to his suite of rooms. "There is a damsel in need of assistance." He stopped after only a few steps and looked back at Eve.</p><p>"I am truly sorry about General Rockwell," he said, almost bashfully. "When this is all over, I'd like to spend some time with you and talk more about it. If you'd <em>like</em>, to, of course…" Eve breathed a small sigh and gave him a tired smile.</p><p>"I <em>would</em> like that, Skip." Jenkins returned her smile, then turned and continued on his way.</p><p>Eve watched him disappear into the hallway, then dropped into her chair again to sit in the quiet workroom for a few minutes, thinking about what had just happened. She hadn't meant to be so hard on Jenkins, but she was glad that at least the confrontation had done some good. Hopefully, now, those two would cuddle and kiss and patch things up between them as they usually did whenever they had a disagreement and move forward.</p><p>The Guardian stood up and stretched her tired back and arms, then walked over to set the coordinates on the Back Door. It was time for her to go home and call Flynn and talk to him about this Cynthia Rockwell crap. Eve decided that she could really use a cuddle and a kiss herself right now, too, even if it was just only over the phone.</p><hr/><p>Jenkins shoved the door open and burst into the bedroom. A quick scan showed him that Cassandra wasn't there, but the door to her private suite was still closed. Without even looking he tossed the suitcase onto the large bed as he passed it on his way over to her door. When he reached it, he stopped just long enough to lean his head close to the thick oak and listen; from within her sitting room he could hear her softly crying.</p><p>He didn't bother to knock. Jenkins grasped the doorknob and wrenched it to the left, pushing hard against the door at the same time. The door swung open and thunked loudly against the backstop inside the room. Right away he spotted her lying face-down on the chaise-lounge; Jenkins plowed into the sitting room like a bull and headed straight for his wife as she pulled herself upright, her watery blue eyes wide and startled, a damp tissue in her hand.</p><p>"Jenkins…?" she gasped softly, confused and surprised. Before she could say anything else, the huge man grabbed her by both wrists and pulled her up from the chaise. Cassandra suddenly found herself enveloped in his long, powerful arms, her face against his chest, held in place by one large hand that snaked into the long hair at the back of her head and gently pressed her to himself.</p><p>"Cassandra, I am so sorry!" he whispered hoarsely over the top of her head. He bent his head down so that his lips were closer to her ear. "I am so very sorry, my love—I never mean to hurt you, but lately it seems that's all I do! Please forgive me!" His hands slid to her shoulders and he pushed her back so that he could look into her eyes.</p><p>"Jenkins, what…?" she began again, utterly bewildered, but he didn't let her finish.</p><p>"I never meant for you to feel like I was running away from you or abandoning you!" he declared, his dark eyes burning into hers, his voice growing rougher and more desperate as he spoke, trying to convince her of his sincerity. "You were right; I was being a coward, I was running away from the Old Magic, but not from <em>you</em>—never from you! I would <em>never abandon</em> you, Cassandra, never! You have to believe that! I love you far too much to do something so cruel and selfish to you!" The immortal pulled her into his arms again and he held her tightly.</p><p>"Please! Forgive me, my love!" he pleaded, the words tumbling from his mouth. "I don't want you to think that you can't trust me anymore, I don't want you to think that I'm like the others!" His voice caught in his throat then, and the Librarian took the opportunity to pull herself gently out of his arms. She looked up at him, one small hand going to his still-bruised cheek.</p><p>"You know I forgive you!" she responded, tears in her voice. "I'm sorry for accusing you of running out on me, and that was stupid and mean of me! I know that you would never do that!" Relief washed over the Caretaker. He took a deep breath and sighed hoarsely as he wrapped his arms around his precious wife again.</p><p>"I love you, Cassandra!" he whispered.</p><p>"I love you, too!" she answered, near to tears again. They held each other tightly for several long minutes, murmuring those three words to each other again and again.</p><p>Finally, Jenkins released the petite Librarian and stood back from her while he began digging into a jacket pocket for his trusty handkerchief, and Cassandra dropped her used tissue onto the small pile on the floor in front of her chaise-lounge before quickly pulling a fresh one from the box. They both dabbed their eyes at almost the same time, and the pathos of the moment caused them to laugh quietly together.</p><p>"Well, aren't we just a tragic pair of pathetic idiots!" said Cassandra sardonically as she crumpled her tissue and tossed it onto the pile. "We <em>so deserve</em> each other!"</p><p>"We do, indeed!" agreed the immortal, folding his handkerchief and stuffing it back into his jacket. "I really am sorry, Cassandra."</p><p>"I know," she said and reached out to take his hands. "I'm sorry, too. I don't know what got into me to say those things to you like that." Jenkins bent forward as he raised her two hands to his lips and gently kissed the knuckles on both.</p><p>"Shall we sit down and talk about it?" he offered, holding one hand out to the chaise while holding onto to one of her hands. He looked down at her as she sat, his expression sober and humbled.</p><p>"I'll go and make us some tea shall I? I'll bring it back here, and we can just sit and talk. And I mean <em>really</em> talk—about <em>everything</em>. Plainly. No more beating about the bush, hmmm?" Cassandra looked up into his earnest brown eyes and squeezed his hand.</p><p>"I would <em>love</em> that!" she said gratefully.</p><hr/><p>"So what is it about this magic that scares you so much, exactly?" asked Cassandra eagerly as she took the cup of hot tea from Jenkins. He paused only a moment as he poured his own tea, taken aback by her enthusiasm. <em>I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised</em> he thought, and continued preparing his tea. <em>She's wanted to talk about this for years, after all</em>.</p><p>"Charlene told me that you were afraid of it because it destroyed Camelot, but how exactly? What happened back then?" Cassandra continued, questions spilling out of her. Jenkins carefully set the teapot back onto the small table he had set up next to the chaise, then dropped two lumps of sugar into his cup and stirred them into the tea, mentally preparing himself to delve into a past he had tried so hard to forget.</p><p>"I...can't remember very much," he said, his brow furrowing in thought. "Not specific details, anyway. She cursed us—cast a spell or several spells—on the day of the battle at Camlann. I remember that everything seemed to be against us that day. The weather, the terrain, weapons and armor that failed us. It seemed as though everything that possibly go wrong for us that day did."</p><p>"But you can't remember anything more specific than that?" pressed Cassandra, somewhat frustrated by the vagueness of his answer.</p><p>"I've put a great deal of effort into <em>not</em>remembering, you know," Jenkins answered with a small shrug. "Not to mention the fact that immortals experience <em>so much more</em> over a lifetime than mortals do, and we oftentimes simply forget things, especially when it comes to the details."</p><p>That gave Cassandra pause; it had never occurred to her before that it was possible for anyone to have <em>too</em> many memories to keep track of, but with an immortal that made perfect sense.</p><p>"But it <em>was</em> Morgan le Fay who brought down Camelot?" she asked. "She raised an army and fought against Arthur, right? That's what the legends say, anyway." Jenkins took a sip of his tea and nodded.</p><p>"Yes, in short," he confirmed. "Arthur had made a great many enemies by then, and Morgan was already a powerful sorceress in those days. She even apprenticed under Merlin for a short time, until he discovered that she was using her magic for the wrong things. When it was discovered that she was plotting against the king, Merlin finally convinced Arthur to drive her out of the kingdom. That turned out to be fatal mistake, of course. It was the final 'insult' on her rather lengthy list of grievances." Jenkins sighed at the distant memory. Cassandra, watching him closely, caught something in his eyes. Embarrassment? Shame?</p><p>"So what was your relationship with Morgan, exactly?" she asked point-blank. The old knight instantly leaned back in his chair and began to run his hand distractedly over his chest, a sure sign of anxiety.</p><p>"Is that something you really want to hear about?" he asked, trying to make his voice sound unconcerned, but succeeding only in sounding trapped. Cassandra cocked her head slightly and fixed him with a reproving gaze.</p><p>"No bush-beating, remember?" she lightly scolded, and Jenkins raised his hands in surrender, nodding.</p><p>"You're right," he said. He took a sip of tea and cleared his throat.</p><p>"Morgan and I… We…" Jenkins fumbled trying to find just the right words.</p><p>"After I found the Holy Grail and after my ill-fated time in Sarras, I eventually returned to Camelot, as you already know. Arthur welcomed me back with open arms. After some years he decided that he wanted to show his appreciation for 'services rendered to the kingdom', as he put it. He could think of no greater honor to bestow upon me than that of the hand of his sister in marriage." Jenkins frowned for moment and then looked up at Cassandra, his eyes now narrowed and the frown melted into a wry smile.</p><p>"Of course, when nobility married in those days, there was always an ulterior reason. In this case, such a union would also help to heal a growing socio-political rift in his court and in the kingdom," he said dourly.</p><p>"A rift?" asked Cassandra, consumed by curiosity.</p><p>"Between the Christians and the adherents of the Old Way," he continued. "Christianity was still relatively new in Britain at that time. Arthur was a Christian king, but most of his court and subjects were still followers of the Old Way. Arthur made it a requirement of his nobles and knights and anyone else who wanted a position at court that they also had to be baptized and become a practicing Christian." Jenkins frowned and shook his head.</p><p>"Most, of course, paid only lip-service to this new Christian god in order to have a place at court; they had no intention of abandoning the Old Way. But some were sincere converts, and those soon began to butt heads with those who were still 'pagan', and it began to cause a great deal of strife within the court and the council. I was one of the few who had actually been raised a Christian from birth; Morgan steadfastly refused to give up the Old Way." Another sour look crossed the old knight's face. "Arthur thought it would be a brilliant idea to marry his pagan sister to one of his most loyal Christian knights, as a display of unity and harmony between the two factions."</p><p>"And Morgan was okay with that?" asked Cassandra skeptically. "Because she doesn't really seem like she would be all right with arranged marriages." Jenkins snorted softly.</p><p>"Morgan was <em>more</em> than merely okay with it!" he said tartly. Seeing the confused look on his wife's face, he fidgeted on the chaise as he tried to delicately explain the situation.</p><p>"Morgan…enjoyed men. <em>A lot</em>. She collected lovers wherever she went. And, I'm somewhat embarrassed to say it, but…she always made it clear that she wanted to add <em>me</em> to that collection." Cassandra dropped her head a bit to hide her smile at his discomfiture.</p><p>"I can see why she would," the Librarian teased him gently. "You're very handsome, you know!" Jenkins snorted again, loudly.</p><p>"I had no wish to be any woman's..." His brow furrowed as he struggled to think. "Ugh, what's the term that's used nowadays? Ah, yes—'toy boy! Yes, that's it—I had no wish to be any woman's 'toy boy'—especially <em>that woman</em>!" Cassandra covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her laughter. Jenkins scowled at her from across the table.</p><p>"I fail to see what's so funny!" he snapped peevishly while smoothing down the front of his shirt, and Cassandra quickly got herself under control.</p><p>"You mean you don't even want to be <em>my</em>toy boy?" she asked, her eyes wide and innocent. Jenkins glared at her through narrowed, admonitory eyes.</p><p>"You don't treat me like a 'toy'," he said sternly, but his mood softened. "You treat me with respect and genuine affection. You would never dream of being unfaithful to me or betraying my trust in you. Morgan, on the other hand, had absolutely no intention of being a true wife to me, nor to any other man!"</p><p>"Oh, right—pagan," replied Cassandra matter-of-factly. Jenkins cocked his head and gazed at her in reproach.</p><p>"'Pagan' does not necessarily equal 'immoral', Cassandra," he firmly corrected her, "Just as 'Christian' does not necessarily equal 'moral'!"</p><p>"Okay—sorry!" she hurried to answer, surprised by his sudden defensiveness.</p><p>"Contrary to what Hollywood has told you, not all pagans engaged in riotous, drunken orgies, or sacrificed their children to goat-headed demons or any other such nonsense!" he continued to fume primly. "In fact, many of the pagans I knew were far more honorable and trustworthy than most of the so-called Christians I knew in those days!"</p><p>"<em>Okay! Okay!</em> I said I was sorry!" protested Cassandra again, holding her hands up. "I didn't know; I didn't mean to offend you or anything!" Jenkins fell back into his chair and shook his white head.</p><p>"I know, I know," he said quietly, his irritation gone. "I apologize, my dear. It's just that…two of my closest friends were followers of the Old Way." Jenkins paused as he was suddenly overwhelmed by the memory of friends that he hadn't permitted himself to think of for many, many years. Catching himself, the immortal adjusted his seat and cleared his throat as he dragged his attention back to the present. "They would've given their lives for me without a second thought, as I would have done for them."</p><p>"I didn't realize," Cassandra said, chastened as she lowered her eyes. She looked up again in time to see Jenkins only nod and wave the awkwardness of the moment away. Cassandra took a breath.</p><p>"So you never actually married Morgan?" Jenkins smiled grimly and shook his head.</p><p>"Absolutely not!" he answered emphatically, much to the Librarian's relief. "Though it wasn't because of her fondness for men; women had much more freedom in those days in such matters, you understand."</p><p>"Then how come?" she asked, her curiosity rising again. Jenkins pursed his lips, his brow furrowed in thought.</p><p>"I'm…not sure what happened," he answered slowly, in the end shrugged helplessly. "I can't remember exactly <em>why it</em> never happened. There must have been some sort of falling out between us. I've tried to remember what happened, but for the life of me I just can't seem to recall any of the details." Cassandra gaped at him.</p><p>"How on earth do you forget something like breaking an engagement?" she asked in disbelief. Jenkins sighed heavily and gave her steady look.</p><p>"It's not as if I'd lost the love of my life, you know!" he retorted defensively. "Besides, there were much larger issues at the time that took up my attention—Morgan's armed rebellion against Arthur, for example? The rape and pillage and destruction of Camelot? And let's not forget Arthur being slain on the battlefield before my very eyes! I suspect my forgetfulness is probably related to one or more of <em>those</em> crises…"</p><p>"Yeah, I know but…she <em>was</em> your fiancée!"</p><p>"In name only! It was never something I wanted, but I was oath-bound to see it through," he said brusquely. "Can we <em>please</em> move on, Cassandra?" He instantly regretted his sharpness.</p><p>"No, wait—I'm sorry," he said raising one hand in a placating gesture. "It's just that…I don't like talking about Morgan, that's all; just speaking her name makes me feel somehow…<em>soiled</em>." He shuddered slightly. "Could we please move on to something else?" Cassandra nodded quickly.</p><p>"So Morgan was a sorceress," she prompted, turning the subject to something more related to their current situation. "The Heart of Sorrow said that Morgan had the same kind of magic as I do. And you and Charlene said that Morgan used her magic against Arthur and Camelot, and that's why you're so dead-set against me learning how to use it." Jenkins dropped his gaze, but not before Cassandra saw a flash of sadness go through his eyes as the ghosts of long-lost friends reappeared in his memory. Cassandra noticed the slightest of tremors in his hands as he distractedly toyed with his teacup.</p><p>"In the simplest terms, yes," he said, his voice now low and hushed. He paused for several seconds, thinking. Cassandra quietly caught her breath as she suddenly felt something more than simple sadness or grief coming from her husband. She could feel it in her own heart—a feeling of darkness and emptiness, deep and overwhelming, like a bottomless well of misery and longing. She unconsciously laid a hand over her heart, the feeling settling into her chest as Jenkins spoke.</p><p>"Ever since the day we met her army on the field of Camlann, I've had this…<em>empty place</em> inside of me." Jenkins now laid his hand over his own heart as he looked up, his expression anguished as he tried to explain the inexplicable to his wife.</p><p>"Rather like a…gaping wound, deep down inside my very soul. A wound that has never healed, and I…" He clasped his hands together and shook his head, groaning in his frustration at not being able to find the right words. He took a deep breath and tried again.</p><p>"It…<em>hurts</em>, Cassandra," he said softly, staring down at his hands as they now clutched his cup of cold tea. His voice became little more than a whisper as he confessed to her.</p><p>"I've tried to make it go away, but it never leaves me. In the past I tried to dull it, tried to fill the hole with drugs, alcohol, women. But nothing took it away. It's <em>always</em> there. I've learned over the years to live with it, but it's always in the background." He stopped for a moment and took a nervous sip of the cold tea in his cup.</p><p>"I'm so sorry, Jenkins," she said, tears welling in her eyes. "I'm so sorry for all of this! I never meant to cause you so much pain. If I could go back in time and change things, I would! I would've never kept that piece of Merlin's magic, I never would've touched the Heart of Sorrow! I never would've—"</p><p>"No, Cassandra—it's…all right," the immortal replied gently, resolutely meeting her gaze. "I don't blame you. The Old Magic would have manifested itself regardless of what you changed in the past."</p><p>"But it's brought us nothing but trouble!" she persisted, the words pouring out of her as her voice now took on an angry and frustrated tone. "I mean, just look at what's happened to us already! First we're nearly drowned on the Titanic, and then you get buried alive for a hundred years and now we're on DOSA's 'Most Wanted' list! And that's only after you've been kidnapped and you and Eve get beaten to a pulp and then you had your arm cut open and then you got threatened with rats and now you have to deal with me and this stupid magic that you're already afraid of and…and…and now I'm starting to think that maybe it would've been better if we'd never met…!" Jenkins instantly squeezed her hands hard to get her attention and leaned forward to fix his distraught wife with a fierce gaze.</p><p>"<em>Never</em> think that, Cassandra!" he said passionately. "Yes, I'm afraid of the Old Magic, I won't deny it. But what I'm even <em>more</em> frightened of is losing you—to the magic, to DOSA, to illness or accidents or to anyone or anything! But I will <em>never</em> regret having met you, <em>never</em>regret our Sealing, not for one second!" His dark eyes dropped to their joined hands for a moment before he looked up again to meet her gaze.</p><p>"I have been a fool, Cassandra, I see it so clearly now," he went on ardently. "Everything is as it should be! I have let my fears separate us far more surely than any magic." Jenkins got up from his chair and, still holding her hand, knelt at Cassandra's feet. He looked up into her clear blue eyes, filled now with apprehension.</p><p>"I have no right to ask you to try and give up your magic or to try and ignore it, I understand that now. It's simply part of what makes you <em>you</em>, just as your lovely eyes are a part of you. I can't ask you to change the color of eyes to suit me, and I can't ask you to stop using magic to suit me, either; it's part of what makes you so different and attractive to me. I love you more than anything else in this world, Cassandra, and I swear to you on my honor as a knight that I will always be here for you, just as you are. I will stand beside you, and support you and guide you in this to the best of my ability, for as long as you need me to do so!"</p><p>Jenkins dropped his head to tenderly kiss Cassandra's hands, sealing his oath to her, then held her hands to his cheek and closed his eyes. Cassandra looked at her husband, her heart filling with renewed love and compassion for him. She sensed that the cause of his inner pain <em>was</em>Morgan and the sorceress's magic; to think that all this time he'd suffered in silence! But the Librarian realized that she, too, had a part to play in his pain. Her own self-absorption with learning and practicing the Old Magic had left no room for thoughts about how it might affect the man she loved most, except for those concerned with how his resistance was affecting her. And then to learn of Morgan's connection with the Old Magic and how she had used it to hurt him and his loved ones so long ago. Cassandra looked down at her half-empty cup of tea and sighed deeply, quietly. She hated to see Jenkins in so much pain like this, especially since she was responsible for at least part of it herself. Cassandra turned her hands, still clasped between Jenkins's hands, so that she could grasp them.</p><p>"I'm sorry, sweetheart," she whispered. "I never meant to hurt you."</p><p>"I know that," he replied, looking up to meet her gaze, the ghost of a smile on his lips. "Nor I, you."</p><p>Silence fell between them for several minutes as they sat holding each other's' hands, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Cassandra raised her head.</p><p>"So what now?" she asked. Jenkins gazed steadily back and drew in a deep breath through his nose. He cocked his head, a spark suddenly lighting in his eyes.</p><p>"I think…it's time for us to take the bull by the horns," he said in strong, determined voice. He rose to his feet and moved to take her by the arm and literally pulled her to her feet, rattling the cups and saucers on the table as her hip jostled it.</p><p>"Come with me!" he ordered, dragging the surprised woman along behind him, out of her suite and through their bedroom as he headed for the door leading to the corridor outside their quarters.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. The Turquoise Serpent</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Jenkins, let go of me! You're hurting me!" Cassandra complained, practically running to keep up with the immortal's rapid, long-legged strides along the corridor. When he showed no sign of turning loose his iron grip on her forearm or of slowing down, she stopped dead in her tracks and pulled backward against him as hard as she could.</p><p>"Jenkins, STOP!"</p><p>He halted and turned around, puzzled.</p><p>"What's wrong?" he asked, peering back at her. She gave one more sharp pull on her captive arm.</p><p>"THIS!" she shot back. "Let go! It feels like you're breaking my arm!" Perplexed, Jenkins looked down at her arm, gripped tightly in his huge hand—so tightly, in fact, that everything below his hand was beginning to turn a sickening blueish-white from lack of blood flow. He instantly released her.</p><p>"Oh, my god, Cassandra—I'm sorry!" he quickly said. "Are you all right?" Cassandra rubbed her reddened arm where he had held her as blood began to rush back into her tingling hand and fingers.</p><p>"It's okay," she answered, giving him a wary look. "But where are you dragging me to?" Seeing that she was, indeed, uninjured, Jenkins turned and began walking quickly again, this time leaving Cassandra free to keep up as best she could on her own.</p><p>"We're going to the lab," he answered over his shoulder. "I think I know of an artifact stored there that can help us."</p><p>"What artifact?" she called out, jogging just behind him. A few more seconds and they were finally at the door to the lab.</p><p>"An artifact that detects magic," he said, pulling a key from his pocket and inserting it into the lock. "I only hope that it wasn't damaged in the explosion..."</p><p>He turned the lock and pushed the heavy door open, reaching out to flip on the lights as he passed through the doorframe. Inside, the newly redone lab was the tidiest and most pristine it had been in many years. Everything was neatly stacked or arranged on shelving; no stray papers, implements, books or writing tools could be seen anywhere. Specimens were clearly labeled and placed in straight rows, scientific tools were stored away in chests or hanging on the walls in their proper places. The new concrete floor was spotless and perfect, and the air still smelled of soap and disinfectant. Jenkins stopped and cast a baleful glare around at the now unfamiliar room.</p><p>"Bah!" he spat, disgusted. "<em>Nothing</em> is where I left it last the time I was in here! It's going to take me <em>forever</em> to find anything now—<em>if</em> I'm ever able to find anything again!" Cassandra dropped her head.</p><p>"Sorry," she said. Jenkins's broad shoulders slumped a bit and his irritation disappeared as he realized what he'd been saying. He quickly turned around and reached out to take her hand, gave it a reassuring squeeze.</p><p>"It's all right, my dear," he said. The image of Cassandra, crumpled and bleeding in the destroyed lab, flashed through his mind. "I didn't mean to sound accusatory. I'll simply have to learn my way around the lab again, that's all. I'm not angry with you at all." She looked up at him, a wry look on her pretty face.</p><p>"But you're probably not too happy with me right now, either, are you?" she asked, her eyes apologetic. Jenkins smiled and lowered his head to give her hand a courtly kiss.</p><p>"<em>Au contraire</em>," he rumbled, looking into her eyes. "I'm <em>very</em> happy to still have you here with me in one piece!" He underscored the sentiment with another kiss to her forehead, then released her hand. He turned to survey his disgustingly tidy lab again.</p><p>"Now, let's see. The last time I saw it, it was...over...here..." Jenkins walked straight to a slightly battered but still serviceable cabinet that had been salvaged from the wreckage after the explosion. Cassandra trotted after her husband, curious. He threw open the doors and began digging through the various boxes, bags and tins inside, quickly making a shambles of the order inside.</p><p>"What are you looking for?" asked the Librarian, darting to catch the items he tossed aside as he continued his search. "Maybe I can help you find it if you tell me what it is or what it looks like?"</p><p>"HA!" shouted the immortal, turning around to display a small, battered cardboard box that was tied closed with a thick strand of age-darkened twine. "Found it! Here it is!" As he carried the box over to one of the new workbenches, Cassandra quickly shoved the items in her arms back into the cabinet and closed the doors before anything had a chance to fall out again, then she hurried to join Jenkins at the table.</p><p>"<em>What is it</em>?" Cassandra impatiently asked again. Jenkins unknotted the twine and tossed it to one side.</p><p>"I just hope it wasn't damaged..." muttered the Caretaker as he opened the flaps of the old box. Excelsior, an old-fashioned packing material made of wood shavings, filled the box up completely. Jenkins began removing clumps of the wool-like packing and dropped them onto the table as he felt around inside of the box. After a few seconds, he glanced up at the anxious Cassandra, a look of triumph on his face.</p><p>"AH!" he sighed with relief, and pulled his hand from the box and held it up. "Excellent! Not a scratch on it!" In his hand was what looked like a large lump of turquoise about the size of a goose egg, but as Cassandra examined it more closely, she could tell that it was actually a large piece of turquoise that had been carved into the form of a tightly coiled snake. Jenkins quickly removed any lingering bits of excelsior as he carefully set the artifact on the workbench.</p><p>"So are you ever going to tell me what it is or not?" demanded Cassandra irritably, leaning in close to get a better look at the object. The figurine was about five inches tall and beautifully rendered. Two small black stones, onyx or obsidian, had been used for its eyes. Small ivory fangs and a tiny forked piece of carnelian were visible in the serpent's open mouth.</p><p>"The expression 'to take the bull by the horns' that I used a few moments ago in your room—it always reminds me of the famous Minoan bull-leapers of ancient Crete, which, in turn, reminded me of this artifact!"</p><p>"Which is…?" huffed the Librarian testily, waving one hand in a "hurry up" gesture.</p><p>"Which is from the ancient Minoan kingdom of Knossos," Jenkins finally revealed, almost reverently. "It once belonged to the High Priestesses there. They used it as sort of 'magic detector'." Cassandra glanced at him, her eyes now puzzled.</p><p>"But we already have a magic detector," she said. Jenkins smiled and gave her a knowing look.</p><p>"Ah, but that detector only looks for magic in inanimate objects or in places," he answered, then looked back at the turquoise snake. "<em>This</em> detects the presence of magic in <em>people</em>." He began clearing away the box and its scattered packing material.</p><p>"The High Priestesses of the Minoans used this artifact to detect the presence of magic in any prospective candidates who presented themselves for service in their temple," Jenkins continued as he worked. "Not only can it detect the presence of magic, it can tell one what <em>type</em> of magic is present—good or evil magic!" Cassandra stood up and looked at the Caretaker with wide, startled eyes.</p><p>"You're going to use it on me, aren't you!" she asked, almost accusatory as she backed away from the table a couple of steps. "You think my magic <em>is</em> evil!"</p><p>"No, I don't," Jenkins countered firmly. "But I <em>do</em> suspect that you have been touched by evil magic in some way—<em>Morgan's</em> magic, specifically." Cassandra gaped in astonishment.</p><p>"What?" she exclaimed. "How? The only time I've ever seen her was at the STEM fair, and even then I had hardly any contact with her! If she had cursed me or zapped me with a spell or something, wouldn't I have known about it <em>then</em>?"</p><p>"Perhaps, perhaps not," he answered cryptically. "The serpent will tell us if you <em>have</em> been cursed, though."</p><p>"But what difference does it make?" Cassandra asked. Jenkins turned to face her, his dark eyes serious.</p><p>"Morgan would recognize the Old Magic in another," he answered. "And she would view that person as a threat—a challenger. The easiest way to eliminate a challenger is to curse them."</p><p>"But…how?" breathed Cassandra, becoming frightened. Jenkins dropped his eyes a moment before raising them again.</p><p>"I don't know," he admitted somberly. "There are as many different types of curses as there are stars in the heavens. Hence, a means of detecting magic in humans is needed. We must first discover <em>everything</em> we can about you and your magic before you can proceed with any sort of training." He picked up the figurine and held it out to the Librarian.</p><p>"Hold this in your hand," he instructed; Cassandra didn't move, only looked up at him with fearful eyes.</p><p>"What does it do?" she asked nervously. "How does it work?"</p><p>"You simply hold the artifact in your hand," he said. "When you speak the words of the spell that activates it, it will become a living serpent. It will—"</p><p>"<em>What</em>?!" Cassandra yelped, backing away even more. She shook her head vigorously.</p><p>"It's how the artifact works, Cassandra," he said patiently. "It will entwine itself around your lower arm and then it will bite you." The young woman's eyes become round with fear.</p><p>"<em>Uh-uh</em>, no way!"</p><p>"It won't permanently hurt you, Cassandra, it's not poisonous!" he hurried to reassure her. "Biting you allows it to...to 'taste' the magic you carry, for lack of a better word. That's how it detects the presence of magic and what type of magic you carry." He took a few steps towards her, his dark eyes pleading. "Please, Cassandra! This is the only way to find out if what I suspect is true!"</p><p>"Why? What do you suspect?" she demanded suspiciously. "What are you not telling me?" Jenkins sighed as his shoulders dropped a bit.</p><p>"I suspect that Morgan <em>has</em> cast some sort of spell on you, but not at the STEM fair," he explained. "I think...she did it sometime in the past. The <em>distant</em> past."</p><p>"What?" she exclaimed, utterly confused. "Jenkins, you're not making any sense! Now you think she cursed me when I was a child?" Cassandra's mouth fell open suddenly.</p><p>"You think she might have caused my brain tumor? Because she somehow knew that I possessed the Old Magic, that I was <em>born</em> with it?" she gasped, stunned. Jenkins drew himself upright and paused a moment before speaking.</p><p>"Possibly," he replied slowly, then raised his chin higher. "But I believe she may have 'intervened' much earlier than that." Cassandra gaped at him, trying hard to wrap her mind around what he was saying to her.</p><p>"What are you saying? That Morgan le Fay cursed me in a <em>previous</em> lifetime? That I'm reincarnated now or something, but I'm <em>still</em> cursed by her?" To the Librarian's amazement, Jenkins nodded his head.</p><p>"That's exactly what I think," he answered soberly. Cassandra's only response was to gawk at the immortal, her mouth hanging open. Jenkins took a deep breath and tried to explain himself.</p><p>"What I think is this: Sometime in the past, you had an encounter with Morgan, a conflict, and she cast a spell on you, a curse. Perhaps even then she sensed the power of the Old Magic within you and therefore considered you a threat to her own power. Perhaps she cast a spell on you that caused you to forget who you are and the magic you carry." Cassandra stared at him in silence for several seconds.</p><p>"And…you…got this idea…from…?" she asked haltingly, slowly shaking her head in bewilderment.</p><p>"Call it—a Caretaker's intuition," he answered.</p><p>"Try again!" Cassandra snorted, throwing her hands into the air, but Jenkins simply shrugged his shoulders.</p><p>"I can't," he said. "Nor can I explain why I feel this way. Except, perhaps, to say that it's a feeling I've always had about you—not about you possessing the Old Magic, but rather that you were an 'old soul', so to speak. And that's how you had such an affinity for magic—you've already been a practitioner for many lifetimes." Jenkins paused a moment to think.</p><p>"But perhaps it <em>was</em> the Old Magic that I was sensing all along, after all," he continued. "The Old Magic passes through a 'spiritual bloodline', for lack of a better term, and only manifests itself once every thousand years."</p><p>"And so you think that sometime in the past, Morgan tried to prevent it from ever manifesting itself again by cursing the last person it showed up in! She thought that by making the next magic user forget the Old Magic, then the line would be broken and it could never manifest again?" the Librarian concluded. Jenkins shrugged again and raised his hands in a helpless gesture.</p><p>"That is my theory," he said. "Unfortunately, Morgan seems to have not taken the Heart Stones into consideration."</p><p>"But why not just kill 'past me'? Why bother with a curse? And wouldn't she have known who I was and that I had the Old Magic at the STEM fair?" asked Cassandra, completely confused now.</p><p>"Killing you wouldn't have stopped the Old Magic. But if she caused you to forget about it, then you wouldn't be as likely to acknowledge it and accept it," Jenkins replied. "And while she may have felt your magic at the fair, but she probably wouldn't have been able to tell which of the people at the STEM fair possessed it. There were simply too many people, too many distractions, and not enough time for her to waste her energy on it. Besides, her attention was focused on getting out of here and into the in-between world as quickly as possible."</p><p>"So if she <em>did</em> curse me in some past life, and if I <em>was</em> reincarnated—her spell would follow me to my <em>new</em> incarnation?" Cassandra asked, her head beginning to ache with all of the convoluted reasoning. Jenkins nodded.</p><p>"It would. The curse would be upon your soul, your spirit—not your body."</p><p>"And the only way to find out for sure is to let this...snake thingy bite me?" The immortal nodded again.</p><p>"I'm afraid so, yes." Cassandra wrinkled her nose in distaste.</p><p>"Why does it have to <em>bite</em> me?" she muttered unhappily. Jenkins gave her a small, sad smile.</p><p>"It's a test of your willingness to suffer in exchange for receiving the knowledge of magic," he answered. "Remember, the young women who put themselves forward as candidates to be priestesses would be put through a rigorous course of training if they were accepted. If they balked at something as simple as a momentary bit of pain and discomfort, how could they expect to be able to withstand the arduous physical and mental demands of their training?"</p><p>Cassandra stared at her husband for a moment, then dropped her eyes to stare at the turquoise figurine still in his hands. She realized that Jenkins was right; this was the only way to find out if she really <em>did</em> possess something as powerful as the Old Magic. And if she was under some sort of curse or spell, from Morgan or anyone else, she needed to know that as well. If this is what it took to find all of that out, to finally have some definite answers, then so be it. She stepped forward, closing the gap between them, and held out her hand.</p><p>"So what do I do?" she said, her eyes full of determination now. Jenkins, filled of pride at his wife's bravery, gently placed the figurine in her outstretched palm.</p><p>"Hold the artifact, carefully, keep it upright," he instructed her. "Close your eyes and concentrate on finding out the truth about yourself and the magic you carry. When you're ready, say 'Besht noy din Asisinay'." Cassandra gave him a nervous glance.</p><p>"Maybe <em>you</em> should cast the spell," she said, her anxious blue eyes dropping back to the serpent artifact. "I don't want to mess this up!"</p><p>"I'm afraid I can't, my dear," he replied, his face taking on a slightly sorrowful look. "I wish with all my heart that I could face this trial for you, but this particular artifact works only for women. And have you already forgotten the magic you possess? If anyone can utilize this artifact correctly, it's you!" The Librarian shot him another look of trepidation.</p><p>"Don't worry, Cassandra; you can do this. I know you can," Jenkins assured her as he gazed steadily into her eyes. "Just do as I've said and you'll be fine. I'll be right here."</p><p>Cassandra took a deep, cleansing breath and closed her eyes as she exhaled it slowly. She worked on focusing her mind on the questions at hand: What kind of magic was in her? What is good or evil? Within moments, a calm, peaceful sensation fell over her like a soft, warm blanket. All of her anxiety and fear melted away until there was nothing left but a detached curiosity. As Jenkins watched her quietly, her eyes suddenly snapped open.</p><p>"<em>Besht noy din Asisinay</em>!" she hissed, the strange words flowing effortlessly from her mouth. Her eyes flashed with a reddish-golden glow for a moment. The stone serpent in her hand immediately shone with a golden sheen that matched that of her eyes from a moment ago.</p><p>All of a sudden the turquoise melted into an iridescent blue-green snake in her hand. It slowly uncoiled itself, its reddish-pink tongue flicking in and out as it uncoiled, its black eyes shining with life. It quickly wrapped its body around her forearm, ending with its head hovering just over the large vein on the inside of Cassandra's arm just below the elbow. The serpent hesitated only a second before striking, faster even than Jenkins's sharp eyes could follow. He flinched involuntarily as the serpent sank its ivory-white fangs deeply into her flesh. Cassandra, her eyes wide and trance-like, only stared at it, barely reacting to the sharp pain.</p><p>A heartbeat later, the serpent raised its head. Before their eyes, the snake glowed again with a pale golden light, but this time as the glow faded the serpent changed color completely. It was now a dull, silvery ash color, shot through with jet-black streaks. With an angry hiss, the serpent withdrew itself back to Cassandra's hand. As Jenkins watched intently, the half-coiled serpent turned to face Cassandra. It lowered its head to lightly touch its nose to the skin of her wrist, as if bowing to her in obeisance. Jenkins sucked in a silent breath; it was the sign he was looking for. The bowing of the serpent confirmed that Cassandra did indeed possess the Old Magic. The black-streaked silver color told him that she was under a curse.</p><p>The snake coiled itself back into its original form. Within seconds, its color changed back the bright blue-green of the turquoise stone from which it was shaped. The eyes dulled and the tongue became still, once again only a bit a carnelian. The tips of its tiny ivory fangs remained stained with Cassandra's blood, however—the only indication that it had briefly been a living creature.</p><p>Cassandra came out of her trance at the same moment; she moaned softly and her knees began to buckle beneath her. Jenkins lurched forward, one hand catching the stone serpent, while his other arm looped around the Librarian's body to keep her from hitting the concrete floor. He quickly set the figurine on the workbench, then turned to Cassandra, kneeling next to her as he gently lowered her to the floor.</p><p>"Cassandra!" he called to her, his voice urgent and concerned. "Cassandra! Can you hear me?" She groaned and turned her head to him, opened her eyes.</p><p>"Jenkins?" she said groggily, then struggled to sit up. "What happened?" She suddenly remembered the serpent, and lifted her arm. There were two tiny punctures in the tender part of her forearm, but it barely bled and she felt hardly any pain. She looked over at Jenkins.</p><p>"What happened?" she asked again, frowning. "What did the snake say? Do I really have magic? Am I cursed? Was it Morgan?" Jenkins stroked her long red hair with one hand, a look of concern on his weathered face.</p><p>"You do indeed have magic, Cassandra," he said, trying to smile reassuringly. "The Old Magic. And you are covered by a strong spell, cast by one who uses magic for evil purposes. Whether it was Morgan or another, the serpent can't tell us that, but...my gut tells me that was, indeed, Morgan le Fay."</p><p>"So...what does all this mean?" she asked hesitantly. This whole situation seemed to become more and more complicated by the second. Jenkins stood up and helped his wife to her feet, buying a few seconds as he tried to make sense of everything himself.</p><p>"I'm not sure," he finally conceded. "I need some time to think about all of this and what we've learned today. I think it would be best to keep this just between ourselves for right now, take some time to ponder on all of it. Perhaps something will come to one of us." He turned and began to carefully repack the serpent into its box. "In the meantime, we go about our business as usual." Cassandra went to stand next to him, absently passed him some of the excelsior.</p><p>"Jenkins...I'm... I'm scared," she admitted quietly, unable to look at him. Jenkins stopped working and turned to take her face between his hands, gently turned her it up to his.</p><p>"I know this is frightening and confusing, Cassandra," he murmured, his dark eyes suddenly fierce. "But you can trust me when I tell you that I won't let anything hurt you! Old Magic or not, curse or not, regardless of how this whole...<em>thing</em> plays out—I want you to remember that I will <em>always</em> be here for you. And I want you to remember that I love you, Cassandra, nothing will <em>ever</em> change that!" He slipped his arms around her and held her close, doing his best to force down his own fear and misgivings. Whatever Cassandra was about to face a result of this magic, she would need him to be strong, to be constant, to be bold, to be fearless.</p><p>She would need him to be the knight she wholeheartedly believed him to be.</p>
<hr/><p>Librarian and Caretaker went about the rest of the day as they normally would, but they got very little actual work done. Both of them were far too distracted, lost in their own thoughts as to what all of this meant and what their next move should be.</p><p>As the day wound down, the two eventually retired to their suite and got ready for bed. Cassandra was relieved and ecstatic when Jenkins told her that he was going to sleep with her in the same bed tonight. After changing into their nightclothes, they settled in together under the blankets, Jenkins spooning against her back, one long arm wrapped protectively around her. Exhausted by the day's worries and fear, Cassandra soon drifted off to sleep.</p><p>For his part, Jenkins felt a dark bleakness settle in his soul as he cuddled his wife, but he blocked out most of it out. He didn't know why he should feel such uneasiness this night, but it didn't really matter to him. He had made his decision, he had committed himself to his Cassandra. He was determined to stay with her from this night onward, never to let the Old Magic separate him from his beloved Librarian again. Their time together was going to be short enough as it was, and he wasn't going to deny himself another minute with her if he could help it.</p>
<hr/><p>
  <em>Jenkins found himself standing in the middle of an open field, a fat, full moon hanging brightly in the ink-black sky. Confused, he spun around quickly in a full circle. The place felt vaguely familiar. In the distance, he could see large bonfires dotting the landscape, and the sounds of revelry drifted to him on the cool spring breeze. As he stood frozen in place, trying to remember where he was or how he had gotten here, he felt staring eyes on him and he whirled around. Several yards away was a small shadowy figure, covered from head to toe by a heavy, hooded scarlet cloak, its thick gold trim glinting dully in the moonlight. He felt more curious than threatened by the figure, and he took a few steps toward it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Who are you? he asked quietly, not wanting to frighten the figure away. Where is this place?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The figure remained silent, but it slowly raised its arms and held them out to him in invitation, the mysterious figure's hands covered by the heavy red fabric. He heard a soft, sighing voice whisper from beneath the hood of the cloak.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Galaha-a-a-d!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jenkins gasped and stepped backwards a couple of paces, as though he'd taken a blow squarely to his chest. But instead of pain, he suddenly felt—<strong>loved</strong>. It was the only word he could think of to describe the astonishing sensation, a feeling so powerful that it took his breath away. It filled him completely, wiping away from his soul every hurt that had been inflicted on him over the last millennium and a half, every scar that marred his heart. For the first time since the fall of Camelot, he felt pure peace and joy wash over him like warm scented water, cleansing him of the pain and sorrow and darkness he had carried for centuries. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Who are you? he whispered, on the verge of weeping with sheer happiness. Are…are you a goddess? He raised his own arms and started to walk toward the waiting figure, his heart pounding with excitement against his breastbone, happy tears filling his eyes. All he wanted to do at this moment was to throw himself into the welcoming arms of this wonderful, loving being.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He had taken no more than three steps, though, when, without warning, the very sky itself seemed to fall and cover both of them both like a thick blanket. Jenkins cried out and covered his head with his arms, but a deafening roar of thunder swallowed up his cries as everything around him suddenly went black, the air heavy and smothering. The ground beneath his feet shook violently, almost knocking him down. He dropped to his knees beneath the weight of the darkness that covered him, but despite the fear that now filled his heart and seemed to choke the air out of his throat, he gathered his strength and forced what air he had in his lungs out, screaming in vain for the scarlet-cloaked spirit to remain with him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>No! Don't leave me! Please! he pleaded, feeling the darkness with its infinite pain and loneliness return to his soul, filling it up again as it hungrily devoured the peaceful, loving feeling that his soul had just tasted. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Come back! Please! Don't leave me! </em>
</p><p>
  <em>He finally collapsed flat onto the ground, swallowed up by the devouring blackness, his body unable to rise again as he realized that he was never going to see the cloaked figure again. He buried his face in the cool, dew-soaked grass, screaming as his long fingers clawing into the dirt as utter desolation took possession of him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Please! No! Come back! Don't leave me! Don't leave me! Don't leave me…!</em>
</p>
<hr/><p>Cassandra was snapped to full wakefulness by the blood-curdling screams of her husband in the bed next to her. The next thing she was aware of was a blazing stab of pain that seemed to cut deep into the core of her being, a pain so sharp that it was almost numbing. She cried out and pushed herself upright, her heart beating wildly with fear. With one hand clutching her chest, she turned and leaned over, fumbled with the switch on the lamp on her nightstand. As soon as the lamp's light flooded the room, she looked down at her hand, half-expecting to see blood, but there was nothing amiss. She realized then that the pain was coming from Jenkins through the bond of their Sealing.</p><p>She twisted around in bed to see Jenkins sitting bolt-upright. His eyes were wide and staring, and his long arms flailing wildly as he thrashed about violently. He continued to cry out in the native language of his youth, so much wretchedness in his voice that it brought a lump to Cassandra's throat.</p><p>"Jenkins!" she called out hoarsely. "<em>Jenkins</em>!" She leaned over to grab his nearest arm with both hands and began shaking him as hard as she could. "Wake up! Wake up!"</p><p>The immortal gasped loudly and jerked awake, his eyes blinking rapidly against the light as he gradually calmed and became aware of his surroundings. His cries died down to ragged pants as he looked around, confusion filling his terror-filled eyes.</p><p>"Cassandra?" he said in a frightened, unsure voice. He sat up and looked agitatedly around the bedroom again, then back to his shaken wife's pale face. "What…what's happened?"</p><p>"You were having a nightmare!" she told him, reaching out to lay her hand on his face. "You were thrashing around and screaming—you scared the hell out of me! Are you okay?" He blinked again and dropped his eyes, embarrassed.</p><p>"I'm sorry, Cassandra," he said, still gasping raggedly. "I didn't mean to wake you like that."</p><p>"I know that, sweetheart, but—what where you dreaming about? I've never heard you sound so… <em>miserable</em>!" she asked, her heart slowing to its normal rate again. "You sounded like you'd just seen a loved one murdered right in front of you! What were you yelling?"</p><p>"Yelling?" he asked, bewildered. "I don't remember. I don't remember anything of it. What was I saying?"</p><p>"I couldn't understand you. It sounded like the language you used to speak when you were younger, back in Camelot? The one you've been trying to teach me?" she answered worriedly. "It sounded kind of like—bay-duke gay-dial—something like that." She shook her head as she struggled to remember the exact sounds of the unfamiliar words she heard.</p><p>"<em>Peidiwch â'm gadael</em>," he said softly.</p><p>"Yes!" she exclaimed with relief. "That's it! What does it mean?"</p><p>"'Don't leave me'," he replied softly, his desolate eyes focused on nothing as she tried to puzzle out an explanation for the words.</p><p>"Who were you saying them to? Do you remember?" pressed Cassandra, adjusting her body so that she was kneeling on the bed next to him. He shook his head as he looked up to meet her concerned gaze.</p><p>"No," he said faintly. "Nothing. Except an overwhelming sense of…"</p><p>"Emptiness!" exclaimed Cassandra, suddenly able to put an exact word to the powerful feeling that had awoken her. Jenkins stared her blankly.</p><p>"Yes. Emptiness; that's it exactly," he said, dazed. "How did you know that?"</p><p>"I could feel it through our Sealing," she said. "It woke me up, and I heard you shouting." The Librarian felt overwhelmed by a sense of concern. She moved her hand to the back of his neck.</p><p>"Jenkins, I think we need to talk to the others about this," she urged him gently. "At least to Eve; I think she can help us!" The Caretaker's brow furrowed as he thought about her suggestion. Knowing how stubborn her husband could be, she leaned forward to rest her head against his shoulder and slipped her arms around him.</p><p>"Please, sweetie," she murmured, closing her eyes. "I'm getting the feeling that this is beginning to spin out of our control. We need to get help <em>before</em> it that happens." She heard the rush of air going into his lungs as he drew a deep breath, then felt his arms move to encircle her.</p><p>"All right," he agreed readily. "We'll talk to Colonel Baird first thing in the morning." Cassandra snuggled into his arms, breathing a quiet sigh of relief that the immortal was giving in to her so easily.</p><p>"Promise?" She felt Jenkins nod his head slightly.</p><p>"I promise."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. The Celtica Wing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Early the next morning, the Back Door hummed to life and the heavy glass doors swung silently open to allow Eve Baird into the Annex for another day's work saving the world. She clutched a large paper cup of hot coffee from a shop just down the block from the apartment she shared with Flynn; she nearly dropped it when she was startled by the sight of a somber-looking Jenkins and Cassandra standing side by side, arms crossed, in front of the Back Door. Eve took in their pale faces and tired eyes, and instantly became concerned.</p>
<p>"Cassandra? Jenkins? What's going on?" she asked warily, her eyes darting between the two. A terrible thought struck her. "Omigod—something's happened to Jake and Ezekiel…!" Jenkins held up a calming hand.</p>
<p>"Mr. Stone and Mr. Jones are fine," he assured her. "They're still in Monte Carlo on their day off, and since the Library hasn't received any notices from Interpol or the Police Principauté de Monaco, one can safely presume that they are behaving themselves. Or at least they haven't been caught. Yet." Eve chuckled nervously, not able to tell by the Caretaker's deadpan expression whether or not he was joking. She turned to Cassandra.</p>
<p>"Okay, so—Cass, what's up?" the Guardian asked. The redheaded Librarian exchanged a quick, anxious glance with the tall man next to her. Jenkins nodded, and she looked back at Eve.</p>
<p>"We need to talk to you," she said, her voice unusually grim and determined.</p>
<hr/>
<p>The three of them gathered around one end of the long table in the middle of the workroom. As Eve listened, Cassandra began to give her a rapid, concise explanation of <em>everything</em> that had been happening with her and Jenkins ever since the two of them returned from the year 1912, where the Heart of Sorrow had sent them weeks earlier. Occasionally, Jenkins would interject a comment to help make something more clear, but otherwise he sat quietly and let his wife do all of the talking.</p>
<p>Eve listened to every word. She was rather pleased to realize that she wasn't too surprised by what she was hearing; she chalked it up to having spent the last six years immersed in the bizarre and fantastical world of the Library. But just when she thought she had heard everything where the Library was concerned, something new always cropped up to prove her wrong. For instance: Here was Cassandra telling her that not only did she likely possess magic so powerful that it manifested itself in the world only once every thousand years or so, but now a gemstone snake was saying that somehow Morgan le Fay was involved and had placed a curse of some kind on the Librarian—<em>in a past life,</em> no less. Before Cassandra had finished her story, Eve began to shake her head and raised her hands in front of her in a halting gesture.</p>
<p>"Okay, Cassandra—stop," she said, confused and impatient. "Just…<em>stop</em>, please!" The Librarian fell silent and Eve rubbed her temples; it wasn't even eight o'clock in the morning yet and she was already getting a splitting headache.</p>
<p>"Okay, let me see if I've got this straight," the blonde woman finally said with a sigh. She turned to fix her gaze on Cassandra.</p>
<p>"You're saying that the Heart of Sorrow told you that you possess some kind of…supercharged magic…"</p>
<p>"Old Magic," offered Jenkins. Eve nodded.</p>
<p>"Old Magic, okay—that only shows up in the world every thousand years. And in this thousand years, it's shown up in Cass?"</p>
<p>"It's always in the world, Colonel," Jenkins corrected her pedantically. "But a man or a woman who can control it and bend it to their will only appears every thousand years."</p>
<p>"So where exactly does this so-called 'Merlin's magic' come in, then?" asked the Guardian, trying to keep it all straight in her mind. Jenkins adjusted his position in his chair to a more comfortable one as he chose his words.</p>
<p>"Merlin was the last one who fully possessed the Old Magic," the immortal began to explain. "When he died, the magic went back into…<em>hibernation</em>, for lack of a better word. And there it remained until our little adventure with the Liber Fabulis." Baird's blue eyes lit up with sudden understanding.</p>
<p>"The sheriff's daughter! When she told <em>her</em> story, she turned Cassandra into Merlin, and this Old Magic just sort of 'recognized' her as being Merlin and manifested itself in her again!" she said eagerly.</p>
<p>"That is what I think, yes," agreed Jenkins. Eve frowned.</p>
<p>"But why did it <em>stay</em> with Cassandra after she became Cassandra again?" she asked. "Shouldn't it have disappeared again? Gone back into 'hibernation'?" Jenkins crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.</p>
<p>"I think it stayed with her because even after she was no longer Merlin, it <em>still</em>recognized that she was his equal in the understanding of magic and its mastery," he offered. "Remember your vision of Cassandra in the parallel universe when you were at the Loom of Fate? She was a powerful Librarian <em>and</em> a sorceress. I think that since <em>that</em> Cassandra already possessed the Old Magic, it only stands to reason that <em>this</em> Cassandra also possesses it."</p>
<p>"Oka-a-y," agreed Eve slowly, her mind racing. "But…the only time Morgan has even been in the same room as Cassandra was at the STEM fair in Chicago, and then she didn't even pay that much attention to her. I doubt Morgan would've cursed Cass at that time and then skip gloating about it to me or you at some point."</p>
<p>"Reincarnation!" yelped Cassandra suddenly, startling the others.</p>
<p>"Reincarnation!" she repeated, a shy grin coming to her wan face. "Reincarnation answers all the questions."</p>
<p>"Reincarnation?" echoed Eve. "Seriously? That's the best you—"</p>
<p>"I agree," Jenkins cut in quickly. Eve turned to stare at the Caretaker.</p>
<p>"So…reincarnation is <em>real</em>?" asked the astonished woman. "Like…<em>really</em> real?" Jenkins nodded and opened his mouth to explain, but Cassandra animatedly jumped in before he could say a word.</p>
<p>"It's real, all right!" she told Eve excitedly. "I've been doing some research since yesterday. It doesn't happen with <em>everyone</em>, but some souls do come back. Sometimes out of choice—they have unfinished business that they want to take care of, for example. Sometimes <em>not</em> out of choice—"</p>
<p>"They come back because they've been <em>cursed</em> to come back!" interjected Eve, feeling as though she'd finally caught up. Her blue eyes swept the small group at the table. "But how do we know which is the case with Cassandra?"</p>
<p>Jenkins fell suspiciously quiet and eased his body away from the table, hunkering down as if trying to make himself smaller and less noticeable. Eve's brow furrowed as she watched him.</p>
<p>"Jenkins…!" she said, mildly threatening. "What do you know, Jenkins?" The Caretaker froze in place for a moment, a look of guilt on his face.</p>
<p>"<em>You</em> know a way to find out, don't you!" she declared. He gave a half-hearted shrug and tiny nod in answer. Eve turned her entire body in her chair to face him full-on. "Okay, Jenkins—spill it!"</p>
<p>"We're really <em>not</em> supposed to be using the artifacts for our own benefit," he said, half defensive, half apologetic.</p>
<p>"Excuse me—didn't you just tell me that you used a magic snake yesterday to find out whether or not Cassandra possessed Old Magic?" the Guardian demanded, incredulous. "Are <em>you</em> really gonna sit there now and tell me we aren't supposed to use the artifacts to help us?" Jenkins raised his head while he adjusted his suit jacket.</p>
<p>"I was just making sure that we were all on the same page!" he sniffed.</p>
<p>"This isn't just affecting me, Eve; it's affecting Jenkins, too," Cassandra interjected, unable to sit quietly anymore. "Whatever is happening to me, he's involved as well, somehow. I don't know <em>how</em> I know that, I just do. Maybe…" She paused and looked nervously at the others, unsure. Jenkins reached over and covered her small hand with his.</p>
<p>"Maybe what, Cassandra?" he encouraged her gently. "Tell us." She looked over at him and took a deep breath.</p>
<p>"Maybe, if I <em>have</em> been reincarnated, and Morgan cast a spell on me or cursed me in some past life—maybe she cursed you too? Maybe...maybe that explains that empty feeling you have in your soul?" Jenkins's eyes widened as her words and their meaning sank in. He turned in his chair to face her directly.</p>
<p>"You…think that…we might have actually known each other in the past?" he asked her. His mind instantly began to race through uncountable memories gathered over the past fifteen hundred years, desperately trying to recall her face, but finding nothing. "I…don't think we've ever…" He shook his head and dropped his gaze.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry, Cassandra, but I simply can't remember ever having seen you before you came to the Annex," he said.</p>
<p>"But I probably would've looked different than I do now!" she pressed. "I could've looked <em>entirely</em> different then!"</p>
<p>"What about magic-users?" asked Eve sharply. "Do you remember anyone who used magic like this?" Jenkins shook his head again.</p>
<p>"Not one, except Merlin, and Morgan herself," he answered, completely at a loss.</p>
<p>"So, then, Cassandra is the reincarnation of Merlin?" posited Eve, looking at the others for their reactions. "That would make sense, right?" Jenkins rubbed the lower part of his face and he considered Guardian's idea.</p>
<p>"It's <em>possible</em>, I suppose…" he agreed tentatively, but his expression communicated clearly that he was uncomfortable with that idiea. Eve leaned in toward him.</p>
<p>"So, then—as the Guardian, I say that we need to confirm it," she said urgently. "If we really <em>do</em> have Merlin reincarnated in our midst or not, we need to know that; that's a matter of Library security. And personally, <em>I</em> would like to know one way or the other, just for my own peace of mind." She turned and nodded her head toward Cassandra. "I'm sure both of you would, too."</p>
<p>Jenkins grimaced as he struggled to make the decision, looking around at the two anxious faces staring at him expectantly.</p>
<p>"There might—<em>might</em>—be a way," he finally said, leaning forward to put his arms on the edge of the table. "But I'm hesitant to say anything about it because it's also very dangerous." Eve waved a dismissive hand.</p>
<p>"Since when is anything in this place <em>not</em>potentially dangerous?" she asked sarcastically. "Cut to the chase, Skip!" The Caretaker cocked his head and glared at her.</p>
<p>"I'm only trying to make you aware of the risks involved!" he replied defensively.</p>
<p>"Are you going to tell us or not?!" Cassandra nearly shouted in frustration; Jenkins reached out to take her hand and she calmed down a bit.</p>
<p>"Sorry," she said. "I—<em>we</em> just want to find out what's going on, that's all!" She glanced over at Jenkins and gave him a faint smile. He returned it, but Cassandra caught the worry in his dark eyes just before he looked away.</p>
<p>"So what kind of danger are we talking about, exactly?" the Guardian asked, her attention focusing rapidly on the safety of her charges. "What's the artifact?" Jenkins looked over at Cassandra, pale and anxious as she waited for his answer. He hesitated in using such an item, but he also knew that he and Cassandra had to figure out what was happening to them if they were ever to have any peace in their lives together.</p>
<p>"The Cauldron of Ceridwen."</p>
<p>There was an awkward pause for several seconds. Baird looked around, puzzled, then shrugged her shoulders and clapped her hands together.</p>
<p>"Great!" she exclaimed. "So let's go get this thing and—"</p>
<p>"No! No one's going to go get this thing!" shouted a voice from the mezzanine level. Three heads snapped upward to see Flynn Carsen standing at the railing, wearing the same rumbled linen suit he'd been wearing the day he left for the Iron Kingdom. He had a look of dismay on his worn face.</p>
<p>"No! It's too dangerous! And as the Librarian, I say that you can't use the Cauldron! <em>Ever</em>!" he continued loudly as he turned and headed for the spiral staircase. Eve, stunned by Flynn's sudden appearance, gaped at him, while Jenkins sat upright, his body visibly stiffening. Cassandra stared at the older Librarian, stunned.</p>
<p>"Flynn!" Eve exclaimed, surprised, and jumped up from her chair. "I didn't know you were back! You said last night that you still had so much work to do in the Iron Kingdom…!" Flynn skipped down the stairs and stopped in front of the small group with a jaunty bounce, then scowled down at them.</p>
<p>"After your call last night, I started to worry about you and decided to cut my business there short. I've already talked them out of the clan war, anyway; the only thing left was the celebratory feasting—eating, drinking, singing, good-natured brawling amongst friends—that sort of thing." There was a note a wistful sadness in his voice, but he quickly shook it off. Eve hurried forward to give him a hug, but he only perfunctorily her greeting as he swept the room with narrowed, warning eyes.</p>
<p>"And it looks like I got here just in the nick of time, too!" he finished in a reproving tone. "I absolutely <em>forbid</em> the use of the Cauldron!"</p>
<p>"What do you mean, you forbid it?" Cassandra demanded, recovering from her surprise and springing up from her seat as her temper sparked to life. "You can't just appear out of thin air and just forbid something, especially if it's something that will help me and Jenkins!"</p>
<p>"I understand how you feel, Cassandra, but—" Flynn started to explain, but the young Librarian didn't give him the chance to finish.</p>
<p>"You have <em>no idea</em> how I feel!" she shot back, clear blue eyes burning.</p>
<p>"Cassandra!" gasped Eve, but the redheaded Librarian ignored her.</p>
<p>"And you're not the only Librarian anymore, either, Flynn!" she continued. "<em>I'm</em> a Librarian, too; I have just as much authority to make decisions around here as you do!"</p>
<p>"Mr. Carsen is the <em>Tethered</em> Librarian, Cassandra," said Jenkins evenly, standing up from his own chair and lightly placing his hand on her back. "He is 'first among equals', so to speak. Final decisions are his by tradition, just as they were with Judson." She turned her flashing eyes onto her husband.</p>
<p>"Judson only had <em>one</em> Librarian at a time to deal with," she argued, refusing to back down. "Flynn threw all of the old rules out the window when he made all of us Librarians!" She turned her head to glare at Flynn while continuing to speak to Jenkins.</p>
<p>"And just because you aren't an official Librarian, that doesn't make you subservient to the ones who are! As far as I'm concerned, you're our equal in every way!"</p>
<p>"Actually," interrupted Eve soberly, raising her hand to get everyone else's attention before things spun out of control. "Flynn didn't make you guys Librarians. The <em>Library</em> did." Jenkins pulled himself up straight as he gazed down on the Guardian, a tiny smile of gratitude on his lips.</p>
<p>"Just so, Colonel Baird," he confirmed, giving a nod of his white head. "Though the Library rarely interferes in day to day operations or in how the Librarians choose to carry out their duties, it is the <em>Library</em> who is <em>the</em> final authority in all matters related to itself and its personnel."</p>
<p>"So…we ask the Library?" asked Cassandra, hopeful. "How do we do that?"</p>
<p>"I think that line of reasoning is <em>way</em> more than a bit of stretch," protested Flynn, shaking his head slowly. "The Cauldron…"</p>
<p>"Is the only way we can find out what is going on with us! And if the Library doesn't approve of us using it, then it will stop us!" said Cassandra, hurrying around the end of the table to stand in front of Carsen. "What if this was happening to you and Eve? You wouldn't hesitate for a single second to do or use whatever you had to to make things right for you again!" She clasped her hands together in a gesture of pleading and looked into Flynn's eyes.</p>
<p>"You have to let <em>us</em> do whatever we have to do!" she pressed. She glanced quickly at Jenkins, then back to Flynn. "Even if it means one of us is injured or—" Out of the corner of her eye she caught Jenkins shifting his weight uncomfortably before she could speak the word "killed", the immortal sucking in a quick, soft breath. She decided to let her sentence remain unfinished.</p>
<p>"It's <em>our</em> risk to take, Flynn," she continued urgently. "It's our choice to make! If we leave things as they are, I just know that it'll eventually tear us apart, and I'd rather be dead than to lose Jenkins!"</p>
<p>Flynn breathed deeply as he considered Cassandra's plea Jenkins had moved to stand next to wife, silently backing her up with a stern, resolute expression on his face. Carsen looked at his Guardian-wife; Eve squared her shoulders and nodded her head in agreement with the redheaded Librarian.</p>
<p>"You've missed a lot here, Flynn, too much to make an informed decision." With a loud sigh, Carsen finally nodded his head in assent after a couple of minutes.</p>
<p>"Okay," he said resignedly. "But you have to know up front that it's not even guaranteed to work. The Cauldron has been part of the Library's collection for over a thousand years, but no one has even known how it works."</p>
<p>"Yeah, what is it, exactly, Flynn? What is it supposed to do?" asked Eve, echoing her earlier question. As Flynn began to explain, Jenkins quietly brought Cassandra's chair around the table to where she was so that she could sit again comfortably.</p>
<p>"The Cauldron is an ancient Celtic artifact that is said to have belonged to the Welsh goddess Ceridwen," Flynn began to inform them, rubbing his hands together distractedly. "Ceridwen was an incredibly powerful sorceress, aided by a magical cauldron in which she could create a potion that granted knowledge, wisdom and inspiration to anyone she chose to give it to." Flynn ran his hands through his uncombed hair and sighed again.</p>
<p>"The only problem is, like I said, that no one knows how the Cauldron works or how to use it properly. That's why I'm so hesitant. It's a piece of very powerful magic, and you just don't fiddle around with magic like that on a 'learn as you go' basis!" Jenkins raised a hand and coughed into it discretely.</p>
<p>"Perhaps I can be of come assistance with that," he murmured. "I do have some <em>firsthand</em> knowledge of Ceridwen, after all."</p>
<p>"Jenkins! Of course!" exclaimed Carsen with an excited hop before walking over to the immortal and slinging his arm over Jenkins's shoulders. "You must've had some exposure to the cauldron and its legends at some point back in the day, right? Whatcha got for us, big guy?" Jenkins's eyes widened for a moment and he spluttered softly as Flynn tightened his arm and gave the immortal a one-armed hug.</p>
<p>"Ah, yes, well! I don't have <em>that</em> kind of firsthand knowledge, sir," he fumbled. "I was raised as a Christian, you see, and Arthur preferred that the members of his court be Christians as well, so what I know of Ceridwen is somewhat secondhand. More like, things that I heard from those who were actually followers of Ceridwen and the Old Way."</p>
<p>"Well, that's better than nothing!" encouraged Eve, turning in her chair to face him eagerly. "Let 'er rip, Jenkins!" The Caretaker cocked his head slightly and ran his hand over his chest as he tried access the long-dormant knowledge.</p>
<p>"Ceridwen was a much-loved goddess, as I recall, one of the most popular in the ancient Welsh pantheon," he began slowly. "She was supposed to possess all knowledge, both magical and scientific…" Jenkins began to speak more rapidly and enthusiastically as more information came to the fore of his prodigious memory.</p>
<p>"Her cauldron was used to make a potion that granted one '<em>awen'</em>—or 'inspiration', that's the closest translation, I suppose, and something very near and dear to a people that treasured bards as the ancient Welsh did. But the word <em>awen</em> means more than just poetic inspiration; it also incorporates a sense of the birth of ideas, the death of those ideas with time and the birth of new ideas as a result. Wisdom, creativity, insight, the birth of thoughts, concepts and philosophies, the powers of reasoning and logic and discernment—"</p>
<p>Jenkins stopped and frowned, then shook his head and grunted softly. "To be perfectly honest, Mr. Carsen, I'm not sure if the cauldron can help us or not; the knowledge that we need is rather more concrete in nature. Cassandra and I simply need facts, not inspiration."</p>
<p>"No!" Cassandra turned to Jenkins and put her hand on his upper arm as she looked up at him entreatingly with desperate blue eyes. "Inspiration might be just what we need! Can't we at least try it? Please?" Something about his wife's reaction intrigued the immortal.</p>
<p>"Why?" he probed, his voice curious. "What are you thinking, Cassandra?" The Librarian pressed her lips together nervously and she looked at Flynn and Eve.</p>
<p>"I just…have this feeling," she answered Jenkins, turning her eyes back to him. "I can't explain it, exactly, but when you mentioned the cauldron, I just got this…fluttery feeling in my stomach, like a feeling of...recognition. I just think the cauldron can help us!"</p>
<p>"We don't even know how to use it, Cassandra," Flynn reminded her. "Like I said, playing around with this kind of magic can do a <em>lot</em> more harm than good." The young woman looked at him and shook her head.</p>
<p>"I don't care!" she answered, resolve clear in her voice. "I think we should try. Or at least <em>look</em> at the cauldron—can we at least do that, Flynn? Please? Just take a look at it; maybe something will come to us!"</p>
<p>"I agree with Cassandra," Jenkins spoke up suddenly, raising his head. "We know she carries the Old Magic. I feel confident that it will know what to do with the cauldron. If not, then at least we'll know that that particular avenue is of no use to us." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cassandra turn to him and smile in gratitude for his support.</p>
<p>Flynn looked at Eve questioningly to get her opinion; after a long pause, she finally sighed softly and nodded her head.</p>
<p>"In for a penny, in for a pound!" she said with resignation. "Where is this cauldron thingy, Flynn?"</p>
<p>"Jenkins, would you like to do the honors?" he asked the Caretaker, and stood aside, his arm extended in invitation for the immortal to lead the way. Without a word, Jenkins took Cassandra's hand in his and led them out of the Annex and toward the Library.</p>
<hr/>
<p>The immortal led them through a dizzying series of corridors, passages and doors until they finally arrived at a massive set of double-doors made of age-blackened oak and bound with hand-forged iron. Above the lintel was a large oaken signboard with brass lettering in a slightly Irish-looking font that read "Celtica". Without hesitation, Jenkins grasped one of the large door handles tightly, then pushed his body's full weight against the wood. It swung stiffly into the room, the iron hinges croaking in complaint to reveal a pitch-black room beyond.</p>
<p>"Nothing like a little atmosphere," muttered Eve nervously as she peered around the large man and into the darkness. Jenkins paid no attention to her as he entered the room and stopped just inside the doorway. He clapped his hands twice; all around the cavernous space, dozens of torches set into the ancient stone walls blazed to life.</p>
<p>The Guardian and the two Librarians gasped at the sight before them: Treasures of gold, silver and gemstones of every color and cut shone and glittered in the firelight. Weapons, shields and armor took up one entire wall, while another wall was filled from floor to ceiling with books, scrolls, hides and tablets of stone and wood. Display cases were scattered throughout the room, containing smaller artifacts. The showstopper, however, was a gigantic set of familiar-looking concentric stone circles that sat squarely in the center of the room, towering above all. As Eve and Cassandra entered the room behind Jenkins, both were struck silent with awe as they stared at the massive blueish-gray stones.</p>
<p>"Is that a copy of <em>Stonehenge</em>?!" exclaimed the Guardian breathlessly, her jaw hanging open. Jenkins snorted and turned to look at her, an expression of scorn on his face.</p>
<p>"No, that is not a copy, Colonel," he said tartly. "That <em>is</em> Stonehenge!"</p>
<p>"<em>What</em>?!" yipped Cassandra, her eyes bugging out in astonishment. "Then what's that thing out on Salisbury Plain in England?" Jenkins smiled indulgently.</p>
<p>"<em>That</em> is the copy, my dear," he said matter-of-factly. "This Stonehenge—the <em>real</em> one—served a duel-purpose for the druids in ancient times; it was a calendar, as today's scientists have learned." His expression turned more serious as he continued.</p>
<p>"But it also served as a focal point for the druids' power during religious celebrations. The stones have absorbed so much power, in fact, that the Library decided it was far too dangerous to leave standing out in the middle of Salisbury Plain, where just any Tom, Dick and Harry could access it and possibly unleash all-consuming destruction upon the world by accident." He shuddered as a memory came to mind.</p>
<p>"Remind me to tell you sometime about the 'druids' who decided to hold a solstice celebration at Stonehenge back in the 1950's, at the very beginning of the Neo-Pagan movement…"</p>
<p>"Gruesome?" asked Baird offhandedly, not really expecting an answer.</p>
<p>"What was left of them, yes," Jenkins answered, completely straight-faced.</p>
<p>"Okay, so where is this cauldron?" interjected Cassandra, eager to get away from unpleasant New Age druid remains. Jenkins stood for a moment and looked around the room, concentrating. He then clapped his hands lightly together.</p>
<p>"Ah-ha! Yes, I remember now!" He headed off in a direction that took him intentionally around the outer ring of enormous stones. He called out over his shoulder to them. "Oh, and whatever you do, do <em>not</em> enter the henge itself!"</p>
<p>"What happens if we do?" asked Eve as she gave the stones a wide berth.</p>
<p>"Trust me, Colonel, you don't want to know!"</p>
<p>The Guardian and the Librarians trailed after Jenkins as he led them past Stonehenge and over to a row of display cases along the righthand wall. As they drew closer, Cassandra softly cried out and rushed past Jenkins, She ran straight to one case in particular. It was long and narrow, and only contained two artifacts. She laid her hands lightly on the heavy glass top and leaned over slightly to look inside. Across the top of the case was a long, well-used, pole-like object made of hazel wood, simply fashioned into an old-fashioned shepherd's crook. A display card just below it read "St. Patrick's Crozier".</p>
<p>The other object in the case was similarly plain and unimpressive: A round, shallow bowl-like object about twelve inches wide and perhaps three inches high. The bowl was made of stone and polished smooth. It had a dull sheen and was dark greenish-blue in color, with tiny flecks of cream peppered throughout. The inside of the bowl was plain, while the outside was carved with a simple twisted rope pattern along the outside rim. Just visible to the onlookers was a simple triskelion design lightly engraved into the body of the bowl. Its display card read "The Cauldron of Ceridwen".</p>
<p>"Open the case!" Cassandra flatly ordered Jenkins as he drew up beside her. Startled by her bluntness, he turned his head to look down at her. When he hesitated, she turned to meet his gaze. Her eyes were bright and glassy, almost feverish, as she stared up at him.</p>
<p>"<em>Open the case</em>!" she demanded loudly, impatiently.</p>
<p>"Cassandra!" exclaimed Eve, taken aback by the Librarian's uncharacteristic rudeness. Cassandra blinked rapidly a few times, as if awaking from sleep.</p>
<p>"Oh!" she breathed softly. "Oh! Jenkins! I'm sorry! I don't know what came over me!" She turned back to the case. "I...I just suddenly felt this…<em>pull</em>, and as soon as I saw the cauldron my mind just sort of went blank! I just wanted to touch it, hold it, as soon as possible…" Her voice drifted off dreamily as she brushed her fingers against the thick glass over the cauldron. Jenkins turned to Flynn and Eve.</p>
<p>"I believe Cassandra will know exactly what to do with the Cauldron," he said pointedly. "It is an artifact of the Old Magic, and that magic is calling out to her now." He clasped his hands together as he gathered his thoughts.</p>
<p>"When I was young, there was a legend that told of how the gods themselves were the ones who built Stonehenge, as a place where their people could meet the gods face to face and bring their concerns directly them," he began. "The legend says that when the henge was completed, it was found that there was one stone left over from the construction. The gods didn't know what to do with the extra stone: It was imbued with the same power and magic of all the gods as the henge stones were, and it would be far too dangerous to just toss it away. As the gods debated what to do with it, the goddess Ceridwen stepped forward and said that she would take custody of the stone. She then carved that stone into this form—" He turned and held out his hand to indicate the cauldron in the case, then turned back to his audience.</p>
<p>"And, using the Old Magic, she transformed it into what has come to be known as her 'cauldron'. She used it to brew her potions, like the one of <em>awen</em>. She also used it as a scrying bowl, and with each use, the Cauldron absorbed more and more of her magic." He turned away from Flynn and Eve and went to stand next his wife, who was still staring longingly down at the artifact.</p>
<p>Eve moved away from Flynn to stand on the other side of Jenkins, and looked down into the case at the Cauldron. To her eyes, it didn't look like anything especially remarkable, just an old stone bowl with a little bit of decoration on it, but she noted that Cassandra seemed to be completely enthralled by it, the Librarian's eyes shining and still abnormally bright.</p>
<p>"How did the Library come by it?" the Guardian asked, curious.</p>
<p>"I don't know the exact circumstances," replied the immortal, slightly distracted. "It was here long before I joined the Library. I remember Charlene—or maybe it was Judson—telling me that it was brought here not long after the fall of Camelot. It's my understanding that many artifacts and items related to Arthur and Camelot were rescued by the Library before Morgan or Mordred could lay their hands on them. I presume that the Cauldron is one of those." Eve stood quietly for a moment, replaying Jenkins's story in her mind, but her brow furrowed in puzzlement as a point in the Caretaker's tale struck her as odd.</p>
<p>"You said the Cauldron came into the Library with a lot of other items from Camelot after it fell," she said quizzically, cocking her head. "So why is kept <em>here</em>, in the Celtica Wing and not with the other things in the Arthurian Room?" Jenkins frowned slightly and shrugged.</p>
<p>"I don't know," he answered. "As I said, the Cauldron was here before me; perhaps it was placed here because it predates Camelot? Perhaps because it's literally made from a piece of Stonehenge itself? I'm afraid you'd have to ask Charlene or Judson that question." Eve nodded and let the question drop.</p>
<p>"So what do we do now?" she asked. Jenkins reached into his pocket and pulled out a small ring of keys.</p>
<p>"We open the case," he said simply. He flipped through the keys on the ring until he found the one he was looking for. He inserted it into the lock on the front of the case and turned it sharply. Eve heard the lock click open, and Jenkins lifted the heavy wood-framed glass lid.</p>
<p>The moment the lid was high enough, Cassandra cried out in triumph and her hands darted into the case to grab hold of the Cauldron. The moment she touched it, her mind emptied of all thought, instantly filling and echoing with what sounded like the jubilant shouts of millions of people. Overwhelmed, her face twisted in pain and she shrieked, snatching her hands out of the case and backing away from the Cauldron with staggered steps. She felt dazed and weak, her legs nearly giving out beneath her.</p>
<p>The others saw only a flash of glittering, blue-green fire at the places where Cassandra's fingers touched the cool surface of the stone bowl. Jenkins heard the Librarian cry out, saw her fall back from the case out of the corner of his eye. Concerned only for her, he let go of the lid and turned to steady Cassandra. He caught her before she could crumple to the floor, while Eve quickly darted forward and grabbed hold of the case's lid to keep it from crashing shut and shattering the glass. She quickly lowered the lid down to the case, then turned to Cassandra. Jenkins had one arm around her, his other hand holding one of Cassandra's as she slowly recovered her senses.</p>
<p>"Cassandra, are you okay?" Eve asked as she and Flynn hurried over to her. Cassandra looked up and nodded, smiling faintly to reassure them all that she was fine.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I'm okay," she answered breathlessly. Her eyes drifted back to the case. "As soon as I touched it, I felt...<em>something</em>. In my head." She laid the fingers of one hand lightly against her temple as she struggled to find the words to describe her experience.</p>
<p>"It felt like I had just run into a wall, only instead of the wall being made of bricks or concrete, it was made of...<em>joy</em>." Eve exchanged an uneasy glance with Flynn.</p>
<p>"Joy?" she repeated. "What do you mean, Cass?" Cassandra shook her head, her eyes helpless.</p>
<p>"I can't explain it any better than that," she replied. "It just felt like—suddenly there was this...overpowering...<em>happiness</em>, like...like the Cauldron was glad to see me! Delirious, in fact."</p>
<p>"It <em>recognizes</em> her!" whispered Jenkins, dumbfounded, his hands slipping from his wife. "The Cauldron recognizes Cassandra!"</p>
<p>"It can't possibly recognize her, Jenkins," Flynn spoke up warningly. "Let's not get carried away! It was created ages ago, it has no idea who Cassandra is; what it recognizes is the magic she carries!" Cassandra turned to stare at the Librarian.</p>
<p>"No! No, he's right!" she gasped. "That's what it felt like when I touched it! Like the Cauldron was happy to see <em>me</em>!" She turned to look up at Jenkins.</p>
<p>"Jenkins! Open the case!" she said, her voice pleading. She saw uncertainty flash through his brown eyes. "It's all right; it won't hurt me! Please—open the case again!"</p>
<p>He hesitated a moment, just to reassure himself that she was, in fact, unharmed. He then stood up. He helped his wife onto her feet, then went back to the case and quickly raised the lid again. Cassandra approached the case more slowly this time, more carefully. She eased her hands into the display case and gingerly took hold of the Cauldron of Ceridwen. Nothing happened this time, however, so she slowly lifted it out of the case. She again felt a visceral, almost physical surge of what she could only call joy from the artifact, like a strong electrical current as it traveled up her arms and into her body. The Cauldron again glowed a faint blue-green that grew steadily stronger the longer she was in contact with it. Joyous voices sounded inside of her head, singing a song of welcome and blessing. Cassandra gasped softly, but remained calm and steady on her feet. As soon as the Cauldron cleared the case, she turned around and brought it close to her body, encircling it with her arms, almost cuddling it like a baby. The heavy Cauldron felt warm and tingly against her skin. As she held it in her arms, a peaceful feeling settled over the Librarian.</p>
<p>
  <em>Mistress!</em>
</p>
<p>Cassandra jumped slightly and gave a soft cry at the feeling that suddenly filled her spirit, and for a moment she had a flashback to her encounters with the Stone of Sorrow. But unlike the Heart Stone, the Cauldron's "voice" was filled with benevolence.</p>
<p>She stared down at the cauldron, speechless. At once her mind was flooded with images and music that flashed before her eyes faster than she could keep up with. She closed her eyes and cried out again, shaking her head, an expression of pain on her face as she continued to clutch the Cauldron to her chest.</p>
<p>"Cassandra!" Jenkins stepped to her side and reached out to hold her steady. "Cassandra! Are you all right?" The young woman stopped shaking her head and stood up straight, a calm, almost serene look on her face now. She looked over at Flynn and Eve hovering in front of her, worried looks on both their faces.</p>
<p>"I'm fine," she said quietly. Her pale face lit up with a beatific smile, and she turned to Jenkins. "I know what to do! How to use the Cauldron, I mean; it just told me what to do, just now!" Jenkins lowered his head and looked into her shining eyes. He felt something deep inside of him stir groggily to life, a feeling that he couldn't quite place, and which wasn't strong enough to come to full life.</p>
<p>"Are you sure?" he asked tightly, and she nodded.</p>
<p>"Yes," she answered before she turned and began to walk towards the door to the Celtica Wing. "I need to make some preparations first, though—I need a quiet space, some candles, incense, some—"</p>
<p>"Okay, wait, wait, wait!" Eve cut in, waving her hands as she rushed to black Cassandra's path. "We aren't doing <em>anything</em> with that thing yet, not until <em>I</em>make a few preparations of my own!" She turned to Flynn.</p>
<p>"Flynn, contact the boys in Monaco tell them to get their butts back here, pronto!" she instructed. "I want them here as backup here in case we need it." She next turned to Jenkins, who was hovering anxiously over his distracted wife.</p>
<p>"Jenkins, can you help Cass get the stuff she needs? I want to fill Jake and Ezekiel in on what's going on as soon as they get back." The Caretaker nodded solemnly.</p>
<p>"Yes, yes, of course, Colonel," he agreed.</p>
<p>"But don't let her do <em>anything</em> with that artifact until <em>I</em> give the okay!" Baird continued, fixing the old immortal with a stern look to make sure he knew that she meant it. "I want safety protocols in place before anyone starts messing with that thing!"</p>
<p>"Understood, Colonel," Jenkins answered the Guardian as she followed Flynn through the massive oak doors and disappeared. He turned his attention to Cassandra, still holding the stone bowl to herself protectively.</p>
<p>"Come along, my dear," he murmured to her softly, gently guiding her past Stonehenge and toward the door. "Let's go and make our preparations, shall we?"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. The Cauldron of Ceridwen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I don't like it!" growled Jake darkly after Baird finished briefing the two returning Librarians about what had happened in their absence with Cassandra and Jenkins. Eve sighed quietly to herself; she wasn't surprised that the taciturn historian was unhappy about all of the magic that was about to be flying around the Library soon. She wasn't even sure yet if <em>she</em> liked it, either.</p>
<p>"We don't know anything about that Cauldron except what Cass has told you herself—under the influence of the Cauldron itself, it sounds like," he continued sourly. "How do we know this isn't gonna be another situation where she gets suckered in by an artifact and talked into doin' somethin' stupid, huh? Like she did with the Heart of Sorrow?"</p>
<p>"Jake, come on!" Eve chided the scowling Stone. "Cassandra isn't stupid! She was tricked, yes—but not because she's stupid! The Stone knew she was susceptible to its magic and it <em>used</em> her!"</p>
<p>"Yeah, whatever," scoffed Stone in disgust. "And so what makes you think <em>this</em> artifact isn't usin' her, too, huh? You tell me that!"</p>
<p>"Dude, why are you being so harsh on Cassandra?" asked Ezekiel, giving Stone a questioning look. "I mean, I know you don't like magic…"</p>
<p>"I don't like magic 'cause I don't <em>trust</em> magic!" Jake shot back. "And I don't like that we seem to be relyin' on it more and more around here lately! I don't trust <em>magic</em>, I don't trust <em>Cassandra</em>, and I <em>sure</em> as hell don't trust Cassandra <em>with</em> magic!"</p>
<p>"You <em>still</em> don't trust Cassandra? You're seriously still rubbing her face in that whole Serpent Brotherhood thing?" demanded Jones caustically, referring to Cassandra's betrayal of the Library when they first joined six years ago. "The same guy who brings a reporter into the Library and then expects her to keep her mouth shut about it—<em>that</em> guy? Really?"</p>
<p>"Why don't you just shut up, Jones!" snapped Jake, at the same time raising his fist and grabbing for him as if to punch the Australian.</p>
<p>"Enough!" shouted Eve, glowering at the two young men. "Just stop it, both of you!" She turned to address Jacob first.</p>
<p>"Look, I get it that you still have some issues with the whole magic thing," she said in a calmer voice. "But the fact is, Jake, magic is simply a part of who Cassandra is. And that's not just me saying that; Jenkins says that. Charlene and Judson said that, too. She can't stop being…'magical' any more than you can stop loving art or architecture or history or being from Oklahoma!"</p>
<p>"I've never killed anybody with a I.M. Pei building, though," Stone answered. "I've never almost caused the world to end with a Michelangelo!"</p>
<p>"Neither has Cassandra!" Baird countered her voice hardening in reaction to the man's stubbornness. "Cassandra has this magic inside of her and there's no removing it. Therefore, she <em>has</em> to learn how to use it, Jacob; she has to learn how to control it, so that she doesn't hurt herself or anyone else! She <em>has</em> to; she has no other choice, because it's not just going to go away!" The Librarian made a wordless sound of frustration.</p>
<p>"Just seems like there has to be another way!" he complained, tipping his chair back. "Somethin' that <em>doesn't</em> require using an artifact like this damn magic Cauldron!" He let his chair fall forward to land on the floor with a thud as he leaned over the table.</p>
<p>"Listen—I know who the goddess Ceridwen is, and believe me, she ain't nothin' you want to mess around with!"</p>
<p>"Why not?" Eve pounced on Jake's declaration; she wanted to find out if the Librarian's knowledge jibed that of Jenkins. Stone snorted and sat back in his chair.</p>
<p>"She was an ancient Welsh goddess of transformation and rebirth," he said.</p>
<p>"I thought she was a goddess of knowledge and magic?" Eve countered. She was getting a bad feeling in her gut. Jake looked directly into the Guardian's eyes.</p>
<p>"Yeah, she was—the kind of knowledge that can only be discovered through <em>dyin'!</em>! She was also a goddess of death and the Underworld, and the kind of magic she possessed was the kind related to death!" Eve definitely didn't like the sound of that.</p>
<p>"That's not what Jenkins said," she replied, suspicious. "He didn't say anything about death or the underworld!"</p>
<p>"Well, maybe that's 'cause he's got a huge blind spot where Cassie's concerned?" he smirked sarcastically. "You know he'll do anything for her, lets her get away with stuff that he would have me and Jones's heads for if we tried it. Maybe he's got a big enough of a blind spot that it's <em>dangerous</em>…"</p>
<p>Eve sucked in a quiet breath as she considered Stone's words. She hadn't realized that Jake was still so mistrustful of Cassandra. She could understand his attitude early on, just after what happened with the Serpent Brotherhood, but by now, years later, he shouldn't have such high walls up.</p>
<p>And what about Jenkins? Had he intentionally left out some crucial intelligence about this goddess and her cauldron in order to help Cassandra? Jake was right when he said that the immortal had a blind spot where his wife was concerned, but was it really so big that he would allow it to put the Library and everyone else in danger? She had a hard time believing that. Nevertheless, she made a mental note to have a little chat with both men later; right now, she needed to make a decision.</p>
<p>"Okay, you know what? It doesn't matter," she said briskly, putting on her military commander's face. "Stone, I get it that you don't trust Cassandra, and that you don't trust Jenkins where Cassandra is concerned. What I want to know is: Do you trust <em>me</em>?" She leaned forward in her chair and gazed intently at the historian, waiting for him to answer.</p>
<p>Stone fidgeted in his seat as the silence dragged on and her eyes never left him. Finally, he coughed nervously and threw himself back into his chair.</p>
<p>"Yeah, yeah, I trust ya!" he muttered sheepishly. Baird smiled.</p>
<p>"Good," she said quietly. "Because if you can't trust Cassandra and you can't trust Jenkins, I need for you to be able to trust me."</p>
<p>"'Cause <em>you</em> trust Jenkins and Cassandra," he finished for her. Eve nodded.</p>
<p>"Exactly!" The Guardian turned to look at Jones. "So what about you? Do you have any trust issues I need to know about?" The thief shrugged carelessly, a roguish half-smile on his lips.</p>
<p>"Me? I don't trust <em>anybody</em>, except for Ezekiel Jones, of course!" Eve and Jacob rolled their eyes and groaned to themselves.</p>
<p>"Perfect!" sighed the Guardian, getting up from the table. "Then let's go see how the others are doing."</p>
<hr/>
<p>Eve led the two Librarians back to the Celtica Wing and ushered them inside. Jake and Ezekiel, never having been in this particular part of the Library before, stopped dead just inside the room and gawked, awestruck at the monumental rings of stone that dominated the room.</p>
<p>"Is that…?" Jake started to ask, pointing at the henge. Eve cut him off.</p>
<p>"Stonehenge, yeah," she confirmed flatly. "The <em>real</em> one. Come on." She grabbed his outstretched arm and began dragging him toward the ancient landmark.</p>
<p>"But…then what's out on Salisbury—?" the stunned historian tried to ask.</p>
<p>"Fake," she answered matter-of-factly. She was far more interested right now in what Jenkins and Cassandra had done to the area around the altar stone. The low flat stone was now elaborately dressed with rich brocade cloths, candles and fresh leafy limbs cut from various trees. There were two huge bronze braziers for burning incense flanking the stone, and the Guardian thought she even spotted what looked like a drum on the floor, leaning against the altar. The whole thing had a vaguely pagan-medieval-Celtic flavor.</p>
<p>"Sightsee later, Stone; right now we have work to do." Eve brought the two men to the edge of the stone circle and stopped. Inside the henge, Flynn was carefully stacking thin sticks of aromatic cedarwood into the braziers. Cassandra and Jenkins stood off by themselves; the Librarian had an even more spellbound look in her glassy blue eyes by now. Jenkins had one arm loosely around her thin shoulders, murmuring what Eve assumed were words of assurance, a worried look on his face. Eve moved around the outer ring of stones until she standing as close to Flynn as she could without actually entering the henge itself.</p>
<p>"What is all of this?" she asked in a hushed voice, not sure why she felt compelled to speak so softly. "I thought Jenkins said to stay <em>out</em> of Stonehenge?" Before Carsen could answer, Jenkins—overhearing the Guardian—spoke up.</p>
<p>"This is what Cassandra wanted," he answered, flicking his worried brown eyes toward his wife. "I'm beginning to wonder if she is perhaps somehow in contact with the spirits of the old gods that are supposed to be in these stones."</p>
<p>"Okay—not sure I like <em>that</em> idea!" hissed Eve, appalled. "The last thing we need to deal with is a Library full of pissed off gods! Or even just a Librarian possessed by a bunch of pissed off gods! Or <em>anything</em>, really, having to do with a bunch of pissed off gods!" Jenkins's brow furrowed in puzzlement. He gave Cassandra quick to make sure she was all right, then walked over to the Guardian.</p>
<p>"Why would you assume they'd be angry, Colonel?" he asked. Baird rolled her eyes.</p>
<p>"Maybe because ninety-nine percent of the entities we've come across over the last six years <em>has</em> been pissed off at us about something?" she countered dourly, and waved at the huge stones looming around them. "And now we're going to wake up a fresh batch of gods and risk pissing <em>them</em> off, too!" Jenkins, forcing the ghost of a smile onto his lips, reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder.</p>
<p>"The Library will protect us if needed, Colonel, have no fear," he said reassuringly, but Baird could hear the strain in his voice. She turned to Flynn, who was now finished with the braziers and had come to stand next to Jenkins.</p>
<p>"Flynn, I think we need to wait on this," she said urgently. "We don't have anything in place in case something goes wrong, and …" Flynn took her hands and gave them a squeeze.</p>
<p>"You heard, Jenkins; the Library will protect us," he said earnestly. "It's too late for plans, now, Guardian. I don't like this any more than you do, but now we just…have to trust the process!"</p>
<p>She almost confronted her husband about his sudden <em>laissez-faire</em> attitude, but she decided to let it go. She didn't share his optimism, however forced it might be, that the Library could protect them from vengeful gods. Instead, she waved her arm at the altar stone. In the center of the low, flat stone was the Cauldron of Ceridwen, flanked by two long beeswax candles in massive silver holders. Eve noticed that the cauldron now held what looked like red wine, almost to its brim.</p>
<p>"So what's going on here now?" she asked again in a low voice as she turned back to the Librarian. "And why is it suddenly all right to be inside of the henge?" Jenkins pulled himself up to his full height and gave the Guardian a concerned look.</p>
<p>"As I said, this is how Cassandra asked to have things set things up," he replied, his deliberately calm voice doing nothing to allay her trepidation. "She says that we must conduct the ceremony here, at the altar stone."</p>
<p>"Wait—<em>what</em> ceremony?" she demanded in frustration. This whole thing was getting out of her control, fast, and Eve Baird didn't like things getting out of her control, especially when the safety of the Library and of her Librarians was at stake.</p>
<p>"The quarry that these stones were taken from is on a ley line," Cassandra spoke up from across the altar area of the henge, her voice distant and placid, yet forceful at the same time. "They are not imbued with just the spirits of the gods; they also have a powerful connection with the electrical impulses produced by the human body, especially the heart."</p>
<p>"And what does <em>that</em> mean?" asked Eve in bewilderment. A shiver suddenly went up her spine as she recognized the sound of Cassandra's voice; it was exactly the same tone and pitch, her words were delivered with the same cadence as the sorceress version of Cassandra that Baird had seen at the Loom of Fate. A tiny smile came to the Librarian's lips, but her vacant eyes remained focused on something far away that only she could see.</p>
<p>"It means that these stones are not only soaked in magic," she answered. "But, through the network of ley lines and the electromagnetic field of the Earth itself, they've also soaked up the magic and the electrical impulses of the countless human beings who have worshipped here over the millennia, the electrical brain patterns and signatures of every single person—their electroencephalographs. The patterns are stored in the stones, and they can be accessed, if you know how to do it. Every person's thoughts, feelings, reasoning, hopes and fears…"</p>
<p>"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" interrupted Eve, shaking her head. "You're saying that you can like…<em>tap into</em> these stones and through them actually…<em>tap into</em> the brain of a person from <em>thousands</em> of years ago and then like—<em>see</em> them? Hear them? Talk to them?" The Guardian looked over at the granite-faced Jenkins.</p>
<p>"How is that even possible?" she demanded of him. She turned to look at Flynn, her eyes pleading for a rational explanation.</p>
<p>"It requires <em>very</em> powerful magic, Colonel," came the somber answer from Jenkins, his voice hushed and his face drawn as he turned his head to look at her. "Primordial magic. Old Magic." Eve's chest went cold at the look of fear in the Caretaker's eyes that could no longer be hidden. For <em>Jenkins</em> to be truly afraid of anything was a bad sign. A <em>very</em> bad sign.</p>
<p>"How dangerous is this, Jenkins?" she demanded. Jake and Ezekiel were now standing with them; they had been listening to everything in silence, their own faces shaken and worried. "We can stop this right now if—"</p>
<p>"It's far too late for that, Colonel," he answered in a resigned voice. "I shouldn't have let her touch the Cauldron; it, too, is made of the same material as Stonehenge. She fell under its irrevocable influence the moment she came into contact with it."</p>
<p>"The magic of the bluestone that makes up Stonehenge can strip away the layers that have accrued around us over the centuries, so that we can remember our beginnings," continued Cassandra evocatively, seemingly oblivious to the others now. "We can see our past lives and learn where we come from, learn from the mistakes our past selves have made and which have led us to the present moment."</p>
<p>"Past lives?!" exclaimed Jacob, moving forward to stand next to Baird. "When did past lives become a thing with this?" Jenkins held up one hand in a calming gesture.</p>
<p>"Cassandra has just been telling me about it, before you all arrived," he answered. "She hears what she describes as a 'voice' coming from the Cauldron; it tells her that she must go back into the past to find the answers she seeks." The Guardian's eyes widened with disbelief.</p>
<p>"A <em>voice</em>?" she repeated. "Not the same voice she heard with the Heart of Sorrow!" Jenkins shook his head emphatically.</p>
<p>"No, <em>not</em> the same!" he said hurriedly.</p>
<p>"I don't like this, Baird!" growling Jacob warningly, looking at the tall woman. "I don't like <em>any</em> of this! After what happened the last time Cass listened to a talkin' artifact, we need to get her out of here and away from the Library until we can get this…this…'Old Magic' bullshit under control!"</p>
<p>"I'm afraid it's not a simple as that, Mr. Stone," said Jenkins evenly.</p>
<p>"The hell it isn't!" Stone exclaimed. "She's a walkin' hazard! There has to be some kind of spell or somethin' that we can use to turn it off or to get it out of her…"</p>
<p>"I thought you were against the use of magic, Mr. Stone?" Jenkins snapped angrily. "Or is it only permissible when it suits <em>your</em> fancy, or accomplishes something <em>you</em> wish?" Stone fell silent at the rebuke, then dropped his eyes in embarrassment. Jenkins took a deep breath, quickly regaining his composure.</p>
<p>"My apologies, Jacob; I didn't mean to snap at you like that," he murmured. "What I mean to say is that the magic that is inside of Cassandra cannot simply be removed or banished., no more than you can remove or banish any knowledge that you possess."</p>
<p>"Except I can choose when to use my knowledge or not," Jacobs grumbled, still stung by the Caretaker's reproach.</p>
<p>"That's true, Jacob—because you have learned how to do that," countered Jenkins gently. "Cassandra has not had the opportunity to do that, and that's why she is so...'dangerous'. And I'm afraid that the only way in which she can learn how to control her magic is to face it head on, whether <em>we</em> like that approach or not." He nodded his white head at the stone bowl sitting on the table, then fixed his piercing dark eyes onto the historian.</p>
<p>"If the Cauldron of Ceridwen is the only way to accomplish that, then the Cauldron is what we will use—with or without your approval." Jacob lowered his head for a second in surrender.</p>
<p>"Sorry, Jenkins," he said, still clearly unhappy with the situation. "I didn't mean it like that." The immortal raised his head slightly, his eyes narrowing, looking as though he was thinking about saying something pointed, but in the end he held his tongue. Instead, he lowered his head again and looked sternly at the younger man.</p>
<p>"I understand your concern, Jacob," he said sincerely. "Believe me, if there was any other way, I would not hesitate to take it. But for Cassandra's own good, this has to be done, and it has to be done in <em>this</em> particular way, much as I dislike it myself—and believe me, Mr. Stone, when I tell you that I dislike this <em>intensely</em>. But, for <em>Cassandra's</em> sake, I have to put aside my own preferences and do what <em>needs</em> to be done!" Jake listened to the old Caretaker's words and nodded.</p>
<p>"Yeah, okay," he finally said quietly, then flicked his eyes in Baird's direction as he recalled his earlier discussion with her. "If I can't trust magic, then I guess I need to trust you, huh?" Jenkins rolled his shoulders as some of the tension he had been holding there eased a bit.</p>
<p>"That's one way of putting it, I suppose," he agreed amiably. Jake reached his hand back to scratch the nape of his neck nervously.</p>
<p>"So…how does this work, exactly?" he asked, anxious to get attention off of himself. Jenkins opened his mouth to answer, but Cassandra suddenly spoke.</p>
<p>"Jacob will play the drum," she said, her voice still distant, but commanding now.</p>
<p>"The rhythm should be like that of the human heart—slow and steady and strong," Cassandra turned her head to each person as she continued to give instructions, but her eyes saw nothing. "Ezekiel will tend the incense and the braziers; he must keep both fed, but not overly so." The Librarian then turned toward the altar and began walking toward it.</p>
<p>"Jenkins and I will stand at the altar," she continued to instruct them. "He and I will hold hands throughout the ritual."</p>
<p>"Cassandra, what's going to happen, exactly?" asked Eve urgently. "I need to know what to expect so I can keep you safe!" Cassandra stopped at the altar and smiled, her eyes fixed dreamily on the Cauldron in front of her.</p>
<p>"What will happen, will happen," she answered blithely. "Not even the Guardian of the Library can stop what Fate has decreed must be!"</p>
<p>"Like hell I can't!" Eve muttered under her breath. She started toward the altar herself, but Jenkins held out his hand to stop her.</p>
<p>"It's all right, Colonel," he said quietly. "She's right; this is all a part of our fates—separately and joined. Just as Mr. Stone has decided to trust me, I'm going to place my trust in Cassandra."</p>
<p>"Jenkins—!" Eve started to protest, but Ezekiel suddenly came forward to lightly grasp her upper arm.</p>
<p>"He's right, Eve," the Librarian said. "I think we should just see how this plays out. If things get too hairy, we can always intervene then." She turned to face him in disbelief.</p>
<p>"But it might be too late by then!" she hissed. The young man shrugged and offered her a smile.</p>
<p>"I guess we'll have to wait and find out, hey?" he answered her, surprisingly calm. Eve turned to look at Jenkins and Cassandra, both now standing at the altar stone. She caught the immortal's eye and stared hard at him.</p>
<p>"If this even <em>smells</em> like it's going to go bad, I'm ending it!" she warned him sternly. He steadily met her gaze and nodded almost imperceptively before turning his full attention back to Cassandra. Her eyes, glistening and feverish-looking, were locked onto to the Cauldron of Ceridwen.</p>
<p>"Cassandra?" he said quietly. "What do you want us to do?"</p>
<p>"Begin the drum! Light the fires and the incense!" she barked, her gaze never leaving the stone bowl in front of her. Jake cast a questioning glance at Baird and she nodded. He picked up the large, flat, one-sided drum and recognized it as an Irish bodhrán. He looked around for its beater and found it, a short stick slightly knobbed on each end. As he adjusted his grip on the crossbar underneath the drum, he began to hesitantly tap on the taut goatskin with one end of the beater. Having never played a drum of any kind before, he was unsure at first, but he quickly fell into a recognizable heartbeat rhythm, and the drumbeats became gradually louder as his confidence grew.</p>
<p>As Jake began to play the bodhrán, Ezekiel went to the first brazier and lit the aromatic cedarwood already piled in it, then lit the second one. He next went over to a small side table that held a large, heavy brass thurible already full of burning coals. Next to the thurible was a bowl of various dried herbs and tree barks mixed with something that looked like granules of dried glue. He picked up the silver spoon next to the bowl and filled it the incense, then dumped the whole spoonful unceremoniously onto the hot coals. A cloud of perfumed smoke instantly enveloped his face. It made its way into his nose, down his throat and into his lungs, causing the young Librarian to cough and splutter loudly.</p>
<p>"Bloody hell!" he exclaimed in a rasping voice between coughs as he turned away from the thurible, his hands waving frantically in front of his face as he tried to drive away the choking cloud. The whole area was soon filled with the cloying, aromatic smoke, causing Jake and Eve to begin coughing as well.</p>
<p>"Geez, Jones, go easy with that stuff!" snapped Stone, somehow managing to maintain a steady beat on the drum. Ezekiel shrugged.</p>
<p>"Sorry!" he wheezed, then stepped back to stand next to the anxious Baird.</p>
<p>As all of this was going on, Cassandra's mind was racing, filling with calculations.</p>
<p>"Light the candles, Jenkins," she ordered in a faint voice, and he obeyed. As soon as they were lit, Cassandra reached out and picked up a small bodkin with one hand while she reached for Jenkins's hand with the other. Before he realized what she was going to do, she pricked one of his fingers with the sharp blade, then held his bleeding finger over the Cauldron. As several large drops of his immortal blood fell into the dark red wine, it pooled momentarily at the bottom of the Cauldron before dissipating. Cassandra released Jenkins's hand and turned the bodkin onto one of her own fingers, allowing her blood to join his in the Cauldron before she set aside the dagger.</p>
<p>The entranced Librarian held her hands over the Cauldron, then began to wave them in a circular motion over the artifact as she whispered the words of a spell in a language unfamiliar to the immortal. The wine glowed a dull red for the space of a heartbeat, then faded back to its usual color. Cassandra slowly picked up the Cauldron, being careful not to spill a drop of the wine. She brought it to her lips and took a large sip of the magically-charged wine, then held the Cauldron out to Jenkins, her eyes still wide but unseeing.</p>
<p>"Drink!" she whispered.</p>
<p>Jenkins unhesitatingly took the Cauldron and lifted it to his lips. He closed his eyes and took a deep drink of the wine, then set the Cauldron back onto the altar. Cassandra immediately joined hands with the immortal, their fingers tightly lacing together, their arms encircling the Cauldron of Ceridwen between them on the altar stone.</p>
<p>"Look into the Cauldron," she whispered. "Don't look away from it, no matter what happens!" Jenkins opened his eyes and fixed them on the contents of the Cauldron. He was already beginning to feel lightheaded.</p>
<p>As happened at the DOSA facility, Cassandra's brain was flooded with equations. Numbers, symbols, letters flitted through her mind's eye at the speed of thought itself, glowing with a warm, soft, golden light as she sought to connect the electrical energies of her and Jenkins's brains with that of the earth itself, in combination with the reservoir of Old Magic and ancient memories held within the towering monoliths of Stonehenge. The same Old Magic that bound her to the stones, the Old Magic that bound her to the land of Britain itself.</p>
<p>Soon the air over the Cauldron began to snap and crackle, softly at first, quickly becoming louder and stronger. As Eve Baird and the others watched, enthralled, the rim of the Cauldron began to glow a blueish-green color that matched the color of the stone from which it was made. Sparks appeared over the surface of the wine, snapping sharply, gradually growing into spidery arcs that leaped from one side of the Cauldron to the other.</p>
<p>"What is that?" whispered Ezekiel nervously, staring at the dancing lights. The air began to grow heavy and warm, as though a summer thunderstorm was forming.</p>
<p>"St. Elmo's fire?" offered Eve, unable to tear her eyes away from the phenomenon.</p>
<p>"No, not St. Elmo's fire," answered Flynn. "At least, not the kind you mean; that's a form of plasma, and the conditions here aren't right for that to occur." He nodded at the increasingly intense lightshow as Jake continued to relentlessly beat the drum in his hand.</p>
<p>"This—<em>this</em> is something else entirely!" Eve glanced at the Librarian.</p>
<p>"What is it, Flynn?" she asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. His eyes never left the Cauldron. Eve quietly grasped the butt of her gun and held onto it tightly, ready to draw it at moment's notice.</p>
<p>"It's the Old Magic, of course!" Flynn whispered, rapt.</p>
<p>Wide-eyed and stone-faced, Jenkins and Cassandra continued to stare into the blood-red contents of the Cauldron, their faces growing more and more slack as they fell deeper in a trance. Eve forced her eyes onto the pair, ready to leap into action at a moment's notice if need be. The Guardian noticed that they were holding hands so tightly that their knuckles were white, and she feared that Jenkins might actually break bones in Cassandra's much smaller hands.</p>
<p>But the young Librarian seemed not to feel any pain or discomfort. The couple held onto to one another as the air around them became charged with static electricity that made the hair on Eve's arms stand on end and her skin tingle. Clouds of some sparkling, fog-like substance now rolled out of the Cauldron and onto the floor. Instead of spreading or dissipating like a normal fog, however, it flowed down the side of the altar, along the short distance between it and the massive inner ring of stones. With incredible speed, the fog swallowed the stones, each in its turn, but went no farther. Glints of golden light flashed back and forth throughout the lengths of fog's multiple arms. Eve glanced at Jones and then Flynn, but they were both too absorbed in what was happening to pay any attention to her. She glanced at Jake, still drumming, and he met her gaze with nervous eyes.</p>
<p><em>Good, </em>she thought. <em>At least Stone is still with it enough to help me if I need it!</em></p>
<p>As one, their heads snapped up and Jenkins and Cassandra looked up from the Cauldron and straight into each other's eyes. A look of elation lit up Cassandra's face, her eyes now glowing with joy.</p>
<p>Jenkins gaped at the place where his wife stood, but he didn't see Cassandra now. His eyes filled with shocked disbelief as he beheld a familiar figure standing across from him and tightly holding his hands—a small, familiar figure completely swathed beneath a hooded scarlet cloak trimmed with heavy gold braid.</p>
<p>"Galahad!" the figure whispered softly.</p>
<p>The color drained from his face, and his dark brown eyes were wide, completely filled with awe, bewilderment—and fear.</p>
<p>"<em>Ceridwen</em>!" Jenkins breathed.</p>
<p>He was barely able to speak it before his knees buckled and he crashed to the floor, nearly striking his head against the altar-stone. He could feel his hands still tightly gripped by the red-cloaked woman as a heavy, smothering darkness fell over the immortal's vision, just like the one in his dream, blocking all sound and sight from without. The all-consuming blackness seemed to suck the very air from his lungs as he slipped gently into unconsciousness.</p>
<p>From just outside of the altar area, the drumbeat ceased as the Guardian cried out, then she and the Librarians rushed forward as one.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thus ends Part 2 of "The Red Sorceress and the White Knight". Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope to have the next part out by the end of 2020!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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